A Holiday Fit for a Queen
by supercode
Summary: Sequel to "The Sins of the Father, the Deeds of the Son". Oliver/Isabel. Spending time with family for the holidays can be hard for anyone. But throw in a brand new son,an ex-villainess girlfriend, a disapproving mother, various hero duties, and a variety of unexpected guests, and you have a holiday that Oliver Queen just wants to end. A holiday fit for a Queen. Complete,
1. The Son

**Disclaimer: The TV show Arrow, is owned by the CW network and its affiliate companies, and the character, Green Arrow, belongs to DC Comics and its affiliates, just as the characters and setting in this fanfic belong to one or both of those companies. Only this story, and its prequel, created without any intent on my part to profit from it, are my original creations. So don't sue me.**

 **AN: I will just point out here that, as was the cause for "The Sins of the Father, The Deeds of the Son", I will generally keep my author's notes confined to the end of chapters, but I just wanted to introduce my new tale here, at the beginning of the first chapter of my last Arrow story's sequel.**

 **Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, let me formally introduce to you, my readers, the sequel to "The Sins of the Father, The Deeds of the Son" that all of you (or at least some of you), have been waiting for: "A Holiday Fit for a Queen"! For those of my readers who are not familiar with "The Sins of the Father, The Deeds of the Son", let me just encourage you to read that story first, as the plot of this tale will make little sense to someone not familiar with this story's prequel. Like this story, my previous tale in the Arrow universe has an Oliver/Isabel (or Olibel) pairing as its main focus, although many other pairing are also present in both tales. So, if that doesn't turn you off, I encourage any readers new to my Arrow fics to start reading this tale from the very beginning of "The Sins of the Father, The Deeds of the Son". For everyone else, I hope you enjoy this sequel to that tale, but just so you know what to expect, the first part of this story will be primarily focused on drama, comedy, and romance elements, and most (but not all) of the action sequences will not occur until the second half or so of AHFQ. But I hope you will still enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. I am cautiously optimistic that you will…**

 **Now, enough jawing on my part, on to the story!**

…One month later…

"So…" The bald, bespectacled man spoke while raising his write eyebrow at the young couple seated on the sofa in front of him. "This is our third session in as many weeks. And I can't help but notice that you are both still holding back on me. What is the actual problem that you want me to help you with?"

The blonde male looked at the angry looking brunette to his right, who shook her head, before the younger man, who looked only slightly less angry, turned towards the older one. "For the last time, I've already told you what the problem is, Dr. Silverson. Isabel and I are under a lot of stress right now, between being in a new relationship together, my new responsibilities raising Connor, and all of the events we have been hosting for the Christmas season. It's just a lot for the two of us to take on."

Isabel nodded. "Exactly."

The therapist sighed. "You know, Oliver, Isabel. Even though we went over this during our first session, I don't think you understand how I conduct couples therapy yet. So let me be a little clearer about that. I can't wave a magic wand and make your problems disappear, like some kind of wizard, nor can I read your minds. So If I'm going to help either of you, I need you both to be honest with me. And since I'm also not one of those counselors who likes to beat around the bush a lot, I call things as I see them. So I'm not going to hesitate to tell you right now that I don't believe the two of you are being straight with me about what is actually bothering you two enough to seek therapy."

Isabel Rochev had an offended look on her face when she opened her mouth, but Dr. Silverson wouldn't let the female co-CEO speak as he continued making his point. "From what Oliver has told me, yes, the holidays can be a stressful time in the Queen holidays, with all of the Christmas parties and functions sponsored by Queen Consolidated that often occur at that time. And I know your family also celebrated Connor's sixth birthday recently. However, Oliver, you told me during our last session together that, while you usually find those business functions annoying, they generally don't bother you too much, because you are used to them. And you even mentioned that your mother, Mayor Moira Queen, has been taking time out of her busy schedule to help you set up some of those major QC related events, just like she helped you set up your son's, her grandson's party, so you two didn't have to set that all up on your own, correct? "

Oliver just nodded in recognition of the therapist's words before the counselor spoke again. "And you, Miss Rochev, told me that you had helped coordinate a number of company parties when you were still an executive for the now defunct Stellmoor International, before that company was merged with Queen Consolidated, without incident. Is that accurate?"

Isabel nodded curtly. "It is."

Dr. Silverson nodded. "Right. So that tells me that the holiday season shouldn't be causing you any undue stress….unless there's something you two aren't telling me?"

Both Oliver and Isabel stayed silent at this point, so the counselor shook his head. "Nothing? Okay then. Also, you both told me during every single one of our sessions so far that your new relationship has been going well, and it appears you still make each other quite happy, despite the recent changes that relationship has experienced since Connor entered the picture."

Both Oliver and Isabel nodded at the counselor's words before the older man added with a skeptical look on his face. "Also, I recall, Oliver, that you told me during our last session together that things were going well as far as raising Connor is concerned?"

Oliver beamed at the mention of his son, and both of the men in the room noticed that Isabel's usual stoic façade broke a little bit as the corners of the Russian woman's lips raised themselves ever-so-slightly upwards as her boyfriend spoke with pride evident in his voice. "Yeah, Connor's a great kid! He's getting along with everybody in the Queen Mansion, especially my mom and sister, he's really well behaved for a kid his age…" The blonde billionaire chuckled. "Actually, my mom sometimes complains that I was never that well behaved as a six year-old! Also, He loves to play catch with me and Roy out in the courtyard, he loves playing games in general really. And he's really, really smart for a kid his age!"

The counselor noticed Isabel nodding in agreement before she said. "Of course he's smart, he's just like his dad!"

Oliver shrugged. "I don't know about that…" But the blonde man didn't directly contradict his girlfriend's words.

Dr. Silverson nodded. "Yes. Connor seems to be adjusting quite well to his new living situation, from what you two have told me. He seems to be getting along with everyone pretty well so far, and the two of you seemed to have been able to incorporate him into your lives quite nicely. In fact, from what I've heard, Isabel, things on that front have been going well since the first time since you met Connor, when you and Oliver picked him up from the orphanage to take him to the Queen Mansion."

Both Oliver and Isabel nodded at the therapist's comments yet again, and both members of the couple remembered the events of the day the counselor was referring to as they did so….

* * *

….3 weeks ago, on a road in the middle of nowhere between Starling and Central City

" _Dammit!" Oliver cursed as he saw the front right tire on his black sports car had blown a flat. ' I don't have a spare tire, and there is no way I'm going to be able to get to Happyfields Orphanage on time to pick my son up if I stop for a service station, and Connor's CPS case worker may think I'm too irresponsible to be a parent if I show up late!' Connor thought to himself, then mentally added: 'I'll need to find a way to get there on time without my car, and I can't do that on my own!'_

 _Oliver Queen took out his cellphone, but immediately decided not to call the first person that had come into his mind to ask for help, his mother, Moira Queen, the mayor of Starling City. Oliver knew his mother had an important speech scheduled at this time today, and that her cellphone would be off right now. So instead, Oliver tried to call the second person he thought of to ask for help, his sister, Thea. But after the blonde billionaire tried unsuccessfully to call both Thea and her boyfriend, Roy, who also happened to be Oliver's friend and teammate on Team Arrow, but neither of those two individuals picked up their phone. Oliver mentally cursed himself when he realized why that probably was. "It's 9:30 in the morning, Oliver! And your sister and her boyfriend run a night club that they probably only finished closing an hour or so ago. They are probably both still too dead to the world to even hear their cellphones go off now! So much for my immediate family, who else can I call!?"_

 _Oliver mentally ran through the rest of his mental list of people to call, and nixed all but one of them off one by one. He knew that both Felicity Smoak and Sara Lance would be more than happy to help him, but he also knew that Felicity was catching up on a back log of paperwork at the office (even with Isabel going easier on her new friend at the office, the brunette and her boyfriend still had a company to run, and needed Oliver's executive assistant to help them run it, since it had become woefully obvious lately that Isabel's own EA was too incompetent to be of much use in that department). On a similar note, Sara, who was spending the day with her family anyway, had her vehicle in the shop right now. Diggle was still out on sick leave until his arm healed and the Queen family had yet to get a replacement limo driver._

 _Oliver was sorely tempted to call his executive assistant's boyfriend, Barry Allen, who, according to Felicity, had started exhibiting meta-human abilities about a week ago, and was now the fastest man alive ("except you know, not like in the bedroom, or anything, because that would just be embarrassing….", Felicity had awkwardly added after telling Oliver about her boyfriend's new powers). But Oliver strongly doubted that Barry had a fast car. In fact, the blonde billionaire didn't even know if the as yet unnamed hero of Central City had a car at all. And the billionaire knew that, although Barry would almost certainly be willing to pick him up and carry him all the way to Central City with his superspeed in order for Oliver to be on time to pick up his son, allowing the friendly police scientist to do so might look suspicious, to say the least. And that would also leave Oliver without a means of transportation to bring Connor Hawke back to Starling City._

 _So, with a sigh, Oliver reluctantly dialed Isabel Rochev's number. It wasn't that he didn't want Isabel to be there when he picked his son up from Happyfields Orphanage, which Oliver had recently discovered was not only the best orphanage in Central City, but the best orphanage in the state. On the contrary, Oliver thought he would probably be a lot less nervous then he had been the first time he had met his son if Isabel was there with him when he picked Connor up to go to the Queen Mansion. That was the reason he had been tempted last week to take Isabel up on her offer to be there with him when he brought his son home. But Oliver didn't exactly know what Isabel was scheduled to do at this particular moment at QC, since he had cleared his own schedule to spend all day with his son and Isabel had offered to take care of things at the company in the meantime. Also, Oliver knew that Moira and Thea would probably be ticked off with him for letting Connor meet Isabel before meeting his grandmother and aunt, but given the circumstances, the blonde billionaire supposed it couldn't be helped._

 _Oliver hoped that he wasn't interrupting anything important at QC when he called his girlfriend, but he couldn't help but be relieved and happy when Isabel picked up her phone after only one ring and the blonde billionaire heard his girlfriend take on a cheerful tone of voice that she reserved just for her conversations with Oliver. "Hello, Oliver. Is everything going okay with Connor? I know you were supposed to be picking your son up today. Listen, I'm sorry, but we have to talk fast, there is an important meeting I'm supposed to have with a potential investor in a few minutes."_

 _Oliver sighed heavily. He really hated to make his co-CEO miss a meeting with a potential investor, which Queen Consolidated could really use right now, but Oliver knew he at least needed Isabel to send someone to help him get to Connor, since he doubted a cab would go to his present location. "That's okay, Isabel, I only need a minute of your time. But I will need you to send a driver, maybe in one of the company vehicles, out to my location, which I will give to you in a minute."_

 _Isabel's voice quickly became serious. "What happened?! Are you okay, Oliver?! Tell me where you are right now!"_

 _Oliver shook his head and spook in a calming voice. "I'm fine, Isabel. I've just been having a little car trouble…."Oliver then quickly explained how his car had blown a flat on the way to picking up Connor in Central City, and how he had run out of people he could call for help. "I'm really sorry to put you in this position, and I know I'm probably making you a few minutes late to that meeting by calling you now, but I'm going to go ahead and tell you were I am, and if you could sent someone to get me so I can pick Connor up by 10:15, I'd really appreciate it!"_

 _After Oliver used his phone's GPS to give Isabel his location, the brunette told Oliver to wait a minute, and after 30 seconds of hearing numerous noises in the background, including Felicity shouting something to the effect of, "what am I supposed to tell Mr. Wayne, then?!", before Isabel came back on the phone line and spoke in a tone that allowed for no argument. "I cleared my schedule until 1 and I'm coming to get you right now, Oliver! None of our company vehicles are available right now, and our drivers are way too slow to get you to where you need to go on time, anyway! You are not going to be late to see your son on the first day of your new life with him if I have anything to say about it!"_

" _But the investor…" Oliver feebly tried to protest._

 _But Isabel would have none of that. "This is more important, Oliver! This is your son we're talking about here! I had Felicity tell Mr. Wayne why I had to reschedule my appointment with him. Hopefully, he will understand. I need to go now, Oliver. See you soon!"_

 _The blonde billionaire was rendered speechless after Isabel hung up her cell, but he quickly found his voice again when Isabel pulled up a red sports car only 15 minutes later after what Oliver guessed must have been a very wild ride during which Isabel had probably had to break at least a dozen traffic laws to get here this quickly! After Isabel yelled at him to hurry and get in the car so she could get Oliver to Happyfields Orphanage on time, the blonde billionaire quickly complied and fastened his seat belt before Isabel shoved her foot against the accelerator hard, sending her, Oliver, and the vehicle they were in, on the road to Starling City like a bat out of hell! Then Oliver smiled and turned to his girlfriend and said. "I love you."_

 _Isabel smirked. "I love you too, Oliver!"_

 _The couple spent the rest of the drive in relative silence, as Oliver finished talking to his insurance agent and getting a towing company to get his car to a service station. But on the last couple minutes of the frantic drive to Happyfields, Oliver quickly went over how he was going to reintroduce himself to Connor, the introduce Isabel to his son._

 _After Isabel's car pulled up to the front of the orphanage at 10:14 AM, and Oliver was able to dash inside to meet Connor's child service's agent just in the nick of time, the whole process of actually getting Connor into Oliver's custody had been rather quick and straightforward, since Connor had no living relatives on his mother's side of the family who had wanted to claim him. Oliver talked to the social worker for a couple minutes, signing a few forms. And then, finally, he was allowed to pick up his son._

 _Oliver walked into the play room, where Connor was playing with Legos with a few of his friends, while Isabel stayed in the lobby of the building, just outside of the playroom. Initially, Oliver had planned to re-introduce himself to Connor, since he wasn't sure his son would remember him from the brief 3-hour visit he had with the five-year old weeks ago. But the boy had surprised him by pointing towards Oliver and shouting "Daddy!" before getting up and running towards Oliver as fast as his little legs could carry him. Oliver had then squatted down to get to his son's level, allowing the young boy to wrap as much of his father's torso as his little arms could fit around him, before the blonde man enveloped his son in a much bigger hug of his own. Oliver was surprised, at that moment, to find he was crying tears of joy at the thought that his son not only remembered him, but had even called him daddy after Oliver had only been able to see Connor once before!_

 _The blonde man quickly dried his tears before his son could see them. Oliver then told Connor that he was going home with him now, and that the young boy may not get to see his friends from the orphanage for a while, so he might want to say goodbye to them now. Connor actually frowned when he was told he may not be able to see his friends for a while, but he seemed to quickly put on a brave face before he quickly turned around and started waving and shouting, "bye!" to several of the other children in the room that Oliver guessed were his son's friends, and several of Connor's peers waived right back, some of them with sad looks on their faces. What neither Oliver nor his son saw, however, was that one of his son's friends, a red-haired girl who looked to be about Connor's age, waved back at Connor longer than all the others, and she seemed the most sad that Oliver's son was leaving, even though, like the other children in the play room, she wasn't exactly sure how long Connor would be gone._

 _Before either Oliver or his son actually left the play area, however, Oliver took him aside to a vacant corner of the room and tried to explain to him that he wanted Connor to meet his "special friend." He then told Connor about Isabel Rochev, who he worked with, and that he liked to spend a lot of his time with. Oliver then briefly explained, in as much detail as the man felt it was developmentally appropriate for his son to know about, what that meant (that Oliver liked to eat some of his meals with Isabel, and take her to places like the park or to movies, and sometimes have "sleepovers" with her at her house, etc.), before making it clear to Connor that he would not allow spending time with Isabel to get in the way of spending time with his him._

 _Connor's response to this revelations about Isabel threw Oliver for a loop. Although the blonde billionaire had an inkling that his son was a smart kid before, based on comments the boy's social worker had made, and his previous visit to his son, his son's current observation made Oliver think that his son may just be some kind of genius. "Is Isabel your girlfriend, daddy?"_

 _Oliver nodded in astonishment. "Yes. She is. How did you know that word, Connor?"_

 _Connor just shrugged. He had heard some of the older boys in the orphanage talking about having girlfriends, and their relationships to the girls those teenage boys talked about sounded similar to his dad's relationship to his "special friend." But Oliver's son was honestly feeling a little scared and shy at the prospect of leaving the orphanage right now, and he didn't really know how to articulate how he knew what little he knew about the concept of "girlfriends", so the little boy didn't say anything further on the subject._

 _Deciding to give up trying to question his five-year old's knowledge of a concept beyond his years for the moment, Oliver gave a shrug that was a mirror image of the one his son had just given. The blonde billionaire then began slowly leading his son towards the lobby, where Isabel was waiting for the father and son. Truth be told, Oliver was especially nervous about this encounter, and he knew Isabel was as well, since both members of the couple badly wanted Oliver's son to have a positive first impression of the man's girlfriend._

 _At first, Connor actually seemed intimidated by Isabel after Oliver formally introduced his son to his girlfriend, and the little boy took a step back from the woman with the stoic, serious look on her face that his Pre-K teacher sometimes gave to a child just before they got in trouble. Unfortunately, the little boy didn't know that was the look Isabel put on her face when she didn't know how to act, or when she was nervous, and trying to hide it. Thankfully, Connor was a little more perceptive then most kids his age, and he quickly noticed other aspects of the brunette that were not so intimidating. The woman, who had put on just a hint of perfume this morning, smelled nice, and her hair was pretty as well. But what finally clenched Connor's positive opinion of Isabel was her eyes. Even though Connor was still confused why Isabel's face looked what he mistook for angry, her eyes were, for lack of a better word….kind._

 _Although Connor didn't have the vocabulary to express any of these thoughts yet, what he did and said next was enough to calm Oliver and Isabel's nerves. Oliver's son quickly dashed the short distance between himself and Isabel, hugged her for a brief second, then whispered. "You're pretty. I like you." before quickly darting back behind his father._

 _Connor's behavior was then rewarded by a small smile from his father and much larger one from Isabel, who was now much less nervous now that she knew Oliver's son actually liked her, before the brunette spoke to the blonde haired, gray eyed offspring of Oliver Queen, that was the spitting image of his father, in a cheerful tone while giving the young boy a brief hug of her own. "Thank you, Connor! You seem pretty great yourself, and I hope you and I can be great friends real soon!"_

 _Connor nodded. "That would be okay, I guess. I'm glad you're acting nicer now!"_

 _Isabel actually chuckled about that, then spoke in a serious voice toward Connor, although she made sure to keep a smile on her face while she did so this time. "Sorry, I've been told I look mad when I'm scared sometimes, and I was afraid you wouldn't like me. You see, I like your father a whole lot, which is why he's my boyfriend, and I know Oliver loves you so…I just wanted you to like me, I guess!"_

 _Connor didn't really know how to reply to that, so he just laughed and said. "That's silly! My dad likes you. Why wouldn't I want to be your friend?"_

 _Isabel chuckled back awkwardly. "Yeah. I guess that was pretty silly. But I'm glad we can be friends now, Connor!"_

 _After that awkward introduction was over, it was time for Isabel to drive Oliver and Connor to the Queen Mansion, where Isabel dropped Oliver off after giving Oliver a quick kiss (which Connor didn't say anything about, although he briefly made a disgusted face when this happened), and his son a quick hug, before saying that she hoped to see both of the them really soon, but that she had to go back to work. A few moments later, Oliver and Connor would enter the Queen Mansion, where they would be greeted by Moira and Thea, neither of which were thrilled that Connor had met Isabel before he met his family, but both of which were very excited to see Oliver's son. Thea, who had been super excited to learn she was an aunt ever since Oliver told her he was a father several weeks ago, would then help her brother give his son a tour of the mansion, while Moira and the house staff (all of whom appeared delighted to have the newest addition to the Queen family in the home), made Connor what would be, in Moira's eyes, "Connor's first decent brunch". Before any of this occurred, however, as Isabel drove away, Connor turned to his father and said: "I like Isabel. She seemed mean at first, but she's actually really nice!"_

 _Oliver smiled and thought to himself that Isabel had come a long way from the ice queen she had been, or at least, pretended to be, since the first day he had met her when she was trying to take over his family's company. She was, among many other things, at least a little bit friendlier now, and a lot friendlier towards Oliver's friends, allies, and loved ones. Her interaction with Connor had proven that much. "Yeah. She really is, Connor, once you get to know her."_

* * *

Dr. Silverson could tell, based upon his two client's smiling faces, that he had succeeded in getting Oliver Queen and Isabel Rochev to think about some of the pleasant memories they had experienced around Oliver's son, and that he had thus, succeeded in getting his client's in a good mood. Deciding that now was a good time, the counselor decided to ask his question again. "So it seems to me, based upon what you two have told me, that things are actually going really well for you two. But I also know you two wouldn't have come into my office if there wasn't an actual problem you needed help with, especially since the two of you haven't been dating that long. So, in the midst of everything that is going well for you two, what is actually going wrong?"

Isabel and Oliver looked at each other for a second, nodded, and then sighed, before Isabel finally said. "Well, for one thing, the two of us have been having some difficulty dealing with some of Oliver's exes…."

 **Hello again! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this new story. Even though, as I said, this story will have a little different tone than the first one did, I really hope you enjoy it, anyway. And yes, I did fudge the timeline a little bit so that the events of the story would take place around Christmastime, which is nowhere near the time of year it is in real life, and probably not around the time that season 2 ended on the show. But I figured my Arrow stories were AU anyway, and the plot I had in mind for this story worked better around Christmastime, so, what the heck! Also, I hope everyone liked the formal introduction of Connor Hawke in this chapter. And for anyone disappointed about not having characters other than Connor, Isabel, and Oliver show up much in this chapter, don't worry, a lot of the supporting cast of Arrow, as well as other faces both new and familiar, will have their times in the spotlight throughout the rest of my story! But please, don't hesitate to let me know what you all actually thought of the first chapter of AHFQ!**

 **As always, thanks go out to my readers for keeping me on my toes, and for keeping me inspired to write stories like this one! And an even bigger thank you goes out to my beta reader, without whom all of my fics would be uglier than the hours-old remains of a buzzard's meal! I could not do this without you!**

 **Until next time, I am….**

 **-supercode**


	2. The Exes: part 1

Almost 2 weeks ago…

"And that is why I, and many of my supporters present today in the SCPD, feel that our fair city's finest should be spending more of their time pursuing the **real** villains in Starling: the weapons dealers, drug pushers, and other criminal cells that have filled our streets with crime and corruption! We feel that is where our city's crime fighting efforts should be directed, towards the more serious threats to our fair city! Not the admittedly eccentric, law-breaking vigilante and his associates, who appear to at least have tried to keep civilian deaths to a minimum in their battles against the real bad people in this city! Although their methods are definitely misguided, and are not endorsed by me and my constituents…"

Oliver frowned as his mother, Moira Queen, the mayor of Starling City, finished her speech on crime prevention in front of the largest SCPD station In Starling City, and the hundred or so cops, press associates, and political and economic movers and shakers that were present at that speech. Although, based upon silent nods and low grunts of agreement that several individuals were making about his mother's words, Moira's speech was persuading many people that the Arrow and his vigilante associates were not a big enough threat to Starling City to be a major focus of the SCPD, Oliver was worried about his mother's speech for a number of reasons. For one thing, he knew that some people may begin to suspect that his mother was actually trying to support the Arrow and his associates, which could bring a greater amount of scrutiny on Moira and the Queen family then Oliver wanted. Secondly, he was a little bit worried for his mother's life, since the new mayor of Starling City was already making a firm stance against crime there. True, Oliver knew that he and his teammates would protect her when they could, and that even the Bratva organization (whom Oliver noted he should probably tell his mom to leave out of her future anti-crime speeches) would probably place some priority on protecting the mother of one of its captains, as long as Moira didn't put more heat on that criminal cell, but he was still worried for his mother's safety, as well as the safety of the rest of the Queen family.

As his mother's speech ended, everyone in attendance, including himself, Lieutenant (and soon to be captain, Oliver was sure, if Moira had anything to say about it) Quentin Lance, Thea Queen (seated on her brother's left), Connor Hawke (who was currently out of school for Christmas vacation, and was seated at his father's right) and Isabel Rochev (who was seated to the right of Connor), stood up and clapped politely. Oliver turned towards his son and girlfriend and gave them both a smile that showed more confidence then he felt at the moment as he thought about the two people to his right. Over the last few days, the blonde billionaire had been getting closer to both of them, as Oliver had been spending a lot of his free time with Connor and Isabel lately. The problem (according to Oliver's mother, anyway) was that Oliver had only managed to do so by spending much of his time with those two individuals at the same time. And the blonde man knew this was, technically, true.

The Arrow and the Midnight Sentinel spent a lot of their downtime with Connor in various ways: taking the young boy on a walk in one Starling City's parks, visiting a couple of museums that Isabel had been interested in (and which Connor, surprisingly, did not find boring until they had spent at least an hour at each location), and even going to a circus that had happened to be in town three days ago. Isabel said she was okay with sharing a lot of Oliver's free time (which was, in and of itself, fairly limited by his job as a co-CEO, Team Arrow's hunt for the Dark Archer, and the blonde man's vigilante activities as the Arrow) with Connor, and the new couple still managed to steal some time for themselves (even if this was mostly limited to dinners and lunches before other duties called one of them away, or "quickies" in a locked room or office during downtimes at Queen Consolidated), but Oliver still saw his mother's point. Sharing his time with Connor had produced the expected benefit of bringing Oliver and his son closer together already. But the hero also noticed that the young boy was starting to develop a bond with Isabel as well, to the point that, even though Connor had already stated he loved his "auntie Thea" and "grandma Moira", the youngest member of the Queen household would often ask where Isabel was, or when he would be able to see her again, whenever Oliver and Connor were spending time alone with family members in the Queen mansion.

Looking back, Oliver admitted that he really should have seen that set of circumstances (Connor starting to bond with Isabel), and his mother's unfavorable reaction to that truth, coming. After all, Connor had told him that, apart from a few dreams of a woman (whose face he couldn't see) holding him, Oliver's son didn't remember his mother at all, since he had been so young when Sandra died. And Oliver supposed it made sense that Connor would bond with his father's girlfriend, and perhaps (Oliver wasn't really clear how Connor felt about this yet), even see her as a mother figure, since Isabel was the only adult female outside of the orphanage the boy could remember spending any significant amount of time around, since Moira and Thea were often busy planning things for the city of the Verdant. And, all things considered, he could understand why the possibility of Connor seeing Isabel as a mother figure would bother Moira Queen

The trouble was, Oliver wasn't sure, given his family's busy schedule, exactly how he could manage Connor's time (outside of the hours the boy spent with the nanny with a rather stuffy personality Moira had hired while everyone else was at work) more effectively to make everybody happier. Because, yes, Oliver did want his son to be able to spend more time with his aunt Thea (who had enjoyed regaling Connor with stories of some of the ways her older brother used to get in trouble as a teenager, and who had found time to take Connor to one of the "Despicable Me" movies once) and grandma Moira (who had put Connor in Oliver's old room, after digging some of Oliver's old toys out for her grandson to use while the boy's father was moved to the largest guestroom in the house, and had, at Oliver's suggestion, gone to the Starling City zoo with Connor, as Robert Queen had once done with his son). But both of Oliver's female family members were often busy. And yes, Oliver knew he should probably be dividing up his time with Isabel and Connor more, and that it was probably unfair that he was, by default, forcing Isabel to spend so much time with a child that wasn't even hers. A child who may or may not be starting to see Isabel as a mother-figure.

But Oliver didn't see any solution to that problem that he thought he could live with. The blonde billionaire knew he didn't want to cut back the already limited amount of time he spent with his son even more. However, he also didn't want to spend less time with Isabel, since Oliver had just started to have a relationship with the brunette that he had, quite uncharacteristically, fallen quite hard for in a very short period of time, and the blonde billionaire didn't want to risk losing that relationship by cutting out any more of the scant time he could spend with Isabel outside of their day or "night job". Besides, Isabel had said she was fine sharing time her time with her boyfriend with Connor, as long as she could still spend time with Oliver at all. The hero also knew that Isabel liked Connor a lot too, both because the brunette had repeatedly told Oliver that Connor was "a great kid", and because, other than Oliver, Connor was the only person who could make Isabel laugh or smile on a consistent basis, something that would probably blow all of the minds of the people at Queen Consolidated who had only seen Isabel's "Ice Queen Rochev" office persona. And try as he might, Oliver just couldn't seem to muster up the concern that he probably should feel about his son and his girlfriend bonding so fast whenever he thought about that process.

Because in all honesty, Oliver liked that two of the people he cared about most in the world liked each other so much already. And even though the growing bond between them meant that both Isabel and Connor would be doubly hurt if Oliver ever broke up with Isabel, Oliver just couldn't see that happening right now, since he loved Isabel so much, and he and the brunette just seemed to fit together so well, in every possible sense of that phrase. Not that he was anywhere near thinking of the "M word" with Isabel right now. No, Oliver told himself. That would be crazy. It was just that he didn't see things between him and Isabel coming to an end in the foreseeable future….

Thankfully, Oliver's son cut off his father's worried, rambling thoughts with his voice as the young boy's arm tugged at one of his father's jacket sleeves. "Are you okay, daddy? Grandma's speech is over already. Can we all go talk to her and aunt Thea now?!"

Before Oliver could even open his mouth to answer his son, after he noticed that Thea had already started working her way through a crowd of reporters toward her mother, he was saved from having to do so by Isabel, who smiled at Connor. "Your grandma is still busy talking to the reporters. But we can go see if we can find your aunt and talk to her before your father and I have to drop you off back home and go to work, how does that sound?!"

Oliver sent a reassuring smile towards Isabel, who he knew really didn't care about his mother's speech much, but had come to this event anyway for his and Connor's sake…and also to further her constant efforts to smooth things over with the Queen matriarch by earning some credit with Oliver's mother, who still didn't like Isabel much. True, saving her and her grandson's lives had put Isabel up a notch in Moira Queen's book, enough that she didn't actively protest Oliver dating Isabel now, at least out loud. But that had only put the brunette at notch one in the Queen matriarch's standing. Apparently, Oliver had found out over the past few weeks, his mother could hold a grudge for a long time. And even though Oliver didn't feel it was his place to say anything to his mother about the silent glares she would sometimes send in Isabel's direction when she didn't think anyone was looking, or the stoic, businesslike tone of voice the Queen matriarch usually addressed Oliver's girlfriend in, the male co-CEO found it disconcerting that his mother didn't seem to be making that great an effort to "let bygones be bygones" in her interactions with Isabel. Oliver found this state of affairs disturbing, primarily for two reasons. One, Oliver knew that Isabel still held some animosity towards Moira due to her actions involving the Undertaking, but his girlfriend was at least making an effort to be nice to his mother by using a friendlier tone of voice towards Moira then she had before, and forcing a smile on her face whenever she did so. And second, because Oliver could tell that Connor was already starting to pick up on the bad vibes between his grandmother and his father's girlfriend, since his son had already asked him once why his grandmother "acted weird" around Isabel.

Trying to push all of those unpleasant thoughts out of his head, Oliver forced a smile onto his face and took on of Connor's little hands in his own while Isabel took the boy's other hand, and the three of them began walking towards the crowd of reporters to try to find Thea. But the trio's movements towards Connor's aunt, was now waiting behind the crowd of reporters to get a word in with her mom after the press left, was halted by the voice of woman that Oliver hadn't spoken to in weeks, and that he really didn't want to talk right now. "Oliver? Hi, I know this is not a great time, but we need to talk again…."

Oliver sighed and turned towards Isabel before he even addressed the person trying to speak with him. "Isabel, could you please take Connor to see my sister for a moment while I take care of this situation? I'll be right back." Isabel nodded, then tapped her right ear, with her free hand and gave Oliver an inquisitive look, silently asking her boyfriend if it was okay for her to use her superior hearing to listen in on the conversation he was about to have with the person who had just addressed him.

After only a moment's hesitation, weighing the other person's right to privacy vs. Isabel's right to know what her boyfriend was up to, and the unpredictable behavior of the person he was about to speak to, which might make that other person do or say something stupid. Oliver reluctantly nodded, earning him a small smile from Isabel, before the blonde man turned towards his son and ruffled the boy's hair a little before saying. "You be good and go along with Isabel to see your aunt, okay? I'll catch up to you before I have to go back to work?"

"You promise, daddy?"

Oliver smiled at the young boy that had become the center of his world in such a short time. "I promise, Connor. I'll see you soon."

Oliver then let go of his son's hand just before Isabel (with her hand still holding Connor's) led the boy towards his aunt, who greeted her nephew with a hug and kiss on his forehead, since she hadn't had much time to converse with Connor before her mother's speech. The blonde man then towards the woman who had asked to talk to him just moments ago: Laurel Lance.

The brown haired woman, who Oliver noted now had streaks of blonde hair on her head, was standing next to her younger sister, Sara Lance, who was now giving Oliver an apologetic shrug, as if to say she had no idea why her older sister wanted to talk to Oliver right now. Oliver noted that the older sister was now staring at Connor and Isabel with a perplexed, yet angry expression on her face that Oliver didn't like at all, but he choose not to comment on this. Instead Oliver started speaking to the eldest of the two sisters who had come to Moira's speech to support their father, Lieutenant Lance, who was in turn, supporting Moira Queen's "tough on crime" position. "I'm guessing you want to speak somewhere a little less crowded, right?" Without waiting for an answer, Oliver started making his way towards the rear of the SCPD building while giving a friendly smile and nod towards Sara to show her he would not hold the youngest Lance responsible for whatever her older sister was about to say to him, and Laurel followed him there.

Once Oliver reached the deserted back courtyard of the SCPD station, the man sighed and turned toward Laurel. "I don't really know why you want to talk to me now, Laurel, after not trying to contact me for weeks, especially when I'm trying to spend time with my son, who I do recall telling you about it in a text message several days ago, but since you came here to talk, please just go ahead and talk."

Laurel put on angry expression on her face, but she at least had the decency to keep her voice down as she said. "Fine. Then let's talk about you not telling me that you had a five-year old child with that Russian tramp you are with now, then the two of you parading the product of your cheating ways around for all the world to see! 'She's new to my life' my ass! I can do math just as well as the next girl, Ollie, and it seems pretty obvious from where I'm sitting that you've had a relationship with Isabel for a long time, and that you were even cheating on me with her before you were stranded on that island!"

Oliver didn't know whether to explode in anger at Laurel's wild allegations against Isabel or laugh at his ex-girlfriend's faulty logic, so he settled on wearing a neutral expression on his face as he said. "I don't know where you got that idea, Laurel, but Isabel isn't Connor's biological mother! I didn't even meet the woman until several months ago, and we've only been dating for a number of weeks! And like I said in that text message I sent you when I **told you** about Connor, which apparently you didn't even bother to read, I didn't even know I had a son until I was given that information several weeks ago. Coincidentally, on the afternoon of the last day I saw you. The very same day I told you I had a son. Now if you wouldn't mind I would like to move this conversation somewhere a little more private, or better yet, end it entirely, if you are going to be making more baseless allegations against…"

Now Laurel seemed really livid, and she was just barely able to keep her voice below yelling volume (which made Oliver really glad the back of the police precinct was still deserted, and that this conversation didn't have an audience other than the one he knew about) as she said. "Do you take me for a moron, Oliver?! I was just watching the three of you interact out there several minutes ago, holding hands smiling at each other, talking like you've know each other your whole lives…You certainly looked like a little family to me! A family you have, apparently, been hiding from me…"

"Enough!" Now it was Oliver who was struggling not to yell. "I already told you that Isabel is not Connor's mom! Yes, she has been helping me watch out for my son lately, and been spending a lot of time with him. And yes, my son and girlfriend have been bonding surprisingly quickly for some reason…but that is something that Isabel choose to do out of the goodness of her heart! She wasn't obligated to continue dating me after she found I had a son, or to spend as much time with Connor as she has, but she choose to anyway, because she cares about me, and, evidentially, Connor! So I don't want you criticizing Isabel, or making those wild allegations concerning me and two people who both mean the world to me, even if we have been friends since childhood. Is that understood, Laurel?!"

Laurel huffed, but visibly calmed down a bit before giving a biting reply to Oliver's words. "Fine. I guess it wouldn't have made sense for the mother of your child to attempt a hostile takeover of your company when she already had your kid. So I guess I do believe you about Isabel not being Connor's mother, although you, your son, and Isabel were certainly acting like that was the case! But like I said, I can do the math, Oliver! I saw on your family's Facebook page that Connor is turning six tomorrow! And that means he was conceived before the island, when you and I were still together! Even if it wasn't with Isabel, you cheated on me…again." Laurel added lamely. "You fathered a child with another woman while you and I were still dating!"

Oliver sighed. He was really glad no one except Isabel was around to hear what was being said between Laurel and himself now. "Yes. I did do that. Sara wasn't the only one who I….but the specifics don't matter. I already apologized to you for all the times I cheated on you in the past, and made it clear that I'm not that kind of man anymore, but if it will make you feel better, I will apologize again now. I'm sorry that I cheated on you… but I'm not sorry that I have a son, who I love, now, even if I only found out about him weeks ago. And I will not apologize for spending time with Connor in public, or throwing my own son a birthday party, just because his origins make you feel uncomfortable! So if you decide you must be mad at someone for that, be mad at me! Don't be mad at Isabel, or Connor, or even Connor's dead mother, who selflessly cared for my son, alone, until the day she died! By the way, this discussion is over now."

And with those words, Oliver turned around and left Laurel by herself, ignoring the eldest Lance daughter's tears and apologies. Right now, Oliver was too mad to deal with his ex's latest mood swings. Especially since he had a lot of other things on his mind right now, such as planning his son's sixth birthday, Connor's first birthday with his family in the Queen mansion.

Even though Connor's birthday, being in early December, was close enough to Christmas that most families would make the birthday celebration of a child born during that time of year a low-key affair, so they could save money for the holidays, the Queen family was not like most families. As such, Oliver was determined to make his son's first birthday in the Queen mansion a blowout…or as much of a blowout as a six year-old's birthday party could be. And even the fact that his mother had accidentally scheduled to have the Queen Consolidated official Christmas party on the same day as Connor's birthday several months ago hadn't deterred the blonde billionaire, who, with a little help from both Moira and Isabel (the three of them planning Connor's party together had been…a bit awkward), had found a way to plan around that event. Furthermore, as a special surprise for his son, Oliver had even arranged to have many of Connor's friends from the orphanage visit the Queen mansion for Connor's birthday, or at least, he was trying to. It seemed that even obscene amounts of money couldn't get Oliver everything he wanted to get for his son (a fact which he had been rather rudely reminded of when Felicity refused to even give her boyfriend her boss's offer to give $10,000 to the charity of the Flash's choice if he showed up at Connor's party for five minutes), and despite a lot of…financial encouragement, the director of Happyfields Orphanage had been reluctant to grant Oliver's request. Even though Oliver had assured the director the event would be chaperoned by his son's well-qualified nanny, as well as his own personal bodyguard (Diggle had told Oliver that he felt up to keeping a few kids in line even with a broken arm), the director of the orphanage had still expressed skepticism that the children in his care would be safe at the Queen mansion for a day, and Oliver's unusual requests was still being processed. Oliver just hoped that it would go through, and that Connor would have more company than the children of a bunch of wealthy individuals that he didn't even know at his sixth birthday celebration.

Oliver was soon able to shake his worried and angry thoughts off, however, when he met back up with Connor, Isabel and Thea in the front courtyard of the police station. He arrived just in time to see his sister hug his son goodbye before she took Connor by the hand and started leading him towards his father's vehicle. Oliver could tell from the angry look that Isabel shoot at Laurel (who had just rejoined her sister and father at the front of the police station with her makeup completely ruined by her crying earlier) that she had heard every word of Oliver's discussion with Laurel. But the blonde man's girlfriend quickly put his mind at ease by shooting a supportive smile in his direction, looking at her co-CEO with a loving gaze full of trust, and squeezing Oliver's hand, before she lead the Arrow by the hand towards his son, and the car they would be using to drop Connor off at the Queen mansion before the CEOs went back to work at QC. And in that one moment, Oliver's choice to date Isabel was strongly reaffirmed as the blonde billionaire was reminded of one of the reasons his and Isabel's relationship worked so well. Oliver and Isabel had gotten to a place that they didn't judge each other for the mistakes they had each made, or the people they had been, in the past, even as they loved each other in the present, and encouraged each other to become even better people in the future.

* * *

Back in the present…

"I see." Dr. Silverson said with a nod of his head. "So Oliver's ex-girlfriend is still upset that he fathered a child with someone else while he was dating her. That is…understandable. But it sounds like you handled that situation pretty well and maintained proper boundaries with Laurel, Oliver. Just because you…went outside of the bounds of your old relationship with Laurel in the past, that doesn't give her the right to meddle in your current relationships with Isabel or Connor."

Oliver sighed and nodded. "Yeah. That's what I thought too. But it turns out that Laurel was only acting so upset with me that day about Connor's parentage because she was upset about a completely different traumatic event in her recent past that she was refusing to even think about at the time. It's all been pretty confusing to keep up with actually."

The older man nodded. "It sounds like it…"

But Isabel wouldn't even let the doctor finish his statement as she rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately, that's not even the half of the problems we've been having with Oliver's exes. You see, Laurel's sister, who Oliver also…dated at one time…" Dr. Silverson noticed Isabel's hesitation before describing her boyfriend's former relationship to Sara, but he let it go for now as the brunette continued speaking. "Sara blamed Oliver for saying whatever he said to Laurel and making her older sister upset. And even though Laurel wouldn't actually tell Sara what Oliver said, she still assumed the worst and believed that Oliver had somehow hurt her sister on an emotional level on purpose. And to make matters worse, Sara and I are actually starting to become friends in our own right, and this whole debacle actually put a bit of on obstacle in the way of that friendship…."

* * *

The night after the speech….

The Canary and the Midnight Sentinel stood on a rooftop overlooking the last Vertigo den that the two heroines were going to take down as soon as all of tonight's suppliers had arrived to pick up the product for distribution. The plan was simple, as soon as all the bad guys arrived, the two masked woman would incapacitate all the drug pushers, leaving them for the police after calling the SCPD using the Arrow's untraceable cellphone. Then the two female vigilantes would destroy the last known source of Vertigo in Starling City. It would be the last such drug den that would need to be destroyed by team Arrow, since said team had already destroyed every other known source of the illicit drug. But both of the disguised woman there silently wished the rest of the team (beside Felicity, who would be monitoring things from the Arrow Cave, as usual) could be here with them to make this last bust. But it was not to be.

Isabel had, more or less, forbidden Oliver from going out as the Arrow tonight, since she could tell her boyfriend had been running himself into the ground with exhaustion by planning his son's birthday part on such short notice on top of his other responsibilities as a father, CEO, vigilante, and boyfriend.

True, Isabel knew she had been keeping almost as busy as Oliver lately, but her healing factor, limited as it was, gave her practically unlimited stamina, which had been an asset in Isabel's life as a company executive and vigilante, as well as the more…intimate advantages that stamina gave Isabel when she was alone with Oliver. It also gave her an advantage when sparring with the other members of team Arrow, since even Sara, who was the only person who could consistently beat Isabel in hand to hand combat now, knew she couldn't beat the brunette in a sparring match if said match lasted longer than five minutes. And with a sword? Forget about it. No one on team Arrow was Isabel's equal when practicing with the dulled blades in the Arrow Cave, and even Oliver and Sara together couldn't beat Isabel with two blades in her hands.

But the point was, Isabel still had plenty of energy to go patrolling tonight, whereas her boyfriend hadn't even had the energy to protest when she had driven Oliver straight home to the Queen mansion after work at QC was done, and told him to go straight to bed after saying goodnight to his family. And since Roy, as luck would have it, had been sick all day, and Diggle's arm was still healing, that just left the Canary and the Midnight Sentinel to take care of things…as soon as all the bad guys finally arrived that is.

The trouble was, the suppliers were taking a long time to arrive, and after almost 30 minutes of staking the drug den out, Sara finally broke the silence and started to talk. "So…something your boyfriend said really upset my sister. I'm almost glad Oliver couldn't show up tonight, or I might have been tempted to knock some sense into the guy for hurting my sister again." Sara turned towards Isabel with a suspicious, inquisitive look on her face. "Do you know what Oliver said to her? Because Laurel won't tell me."

Isabel rolled her eyes and bit her lip to suppress an angry outburst at Sara for presuming that she would violate her boyfriend's privacy by telling Sara something that was none of her business. The brunette also had to force herself to refrain from calling Sara, who Oliver had once cheated on Laurel with years ago, a hypocrite for getting upset with Oliver for hurting Laurel's feelings. But Isabel was able to refrain from speaking about either of these subjects when she reminded herself that, ever since Slade had been killed, the other members of Team Arrow, other than Oliver and Felicity, who had trusted Isabel since almost immediately after she had turned on Slade, had been starting to warm up to the Midnight Sentinel's presence in the group. Diggle and Roy had reluctantly accepted Isabel as one of their own in light of all she had sacrificed and done for Oliver and his friends to help them beat Slade, and Isabel and Sara had actually seemed like they were starting to become friends. Until now, that is.

The Midnight Sentinel sighed. "Like I said earlier in the evening, whatever problems you and your sister have with Oliver, I don't want any part of them. I'm not picking a side, since Oliver is my boyfriend and I consider you my friend now, but I don't want to discuss this subject with you, and I hope that you can respect that."

"Fine." The Canary huffed, but the woman's tone of voice revealed that everything was not fine at all, and that the blonde woman was pissed at Isabel for not siding with her in her argument with Oliver, and for not giving her the info she wanted. Thankfully, a distraction arrived in the form of several cars arriving at the Vertigo den, carrying the last few remaining brave (and dumb) souls who were willing to act as suppliers for Vertigo after team Arrow had unofficially gone to war with all the supplier of that illicit substance weeks ago…as well as the two dozen hired guns that were evidentially there to guard those suppliers.

Felicity's voice on Sara and Isabel's comms confirmed Isabel's count. "Okay team, satellite imagery reveals the suppliers are below you know, as well as 24 armed guards. Are you sure you two want to take them all on by yourselves?!"

Sara smiled, her argument with Isabel momentarily forgotten. "24 armed men against just us two masks, huh? That doesn't seem fair…"

Isabel smirked and finished Sara's statement. "For them."

As soon as all the criminals had entered the building, the two vigilantes quickly put their plan into action, as Isabel and Sara put plugs in their ears before the two masks tossed two electronic devices through one of the criminal hideout's second story windows. The two vigilantes had timed their throws just right, so that the second device tossed into the building, the Canary's sonic weapon, was not affected by the limited blast radius of the non-lethal EMP device (developed by the Queen Consolidated science division) that Isabel tossed into the drug den first.

The results of these two devices being activated were predictably magnificent (from the perspective of the two vigilantes on the rooftop) and terrifying (for the criminals in the building containing the Vertigo). Every person in the drug den collapsed to the ground, dropping their guns on the way down, in pain and disorientation as their ears were left ringing and their eyes were deprived of light to see. Isabel smirked as she remembered something that Oliver had told her once about being a vigilante. "You know sometimes I think striking fear into the hearts of the bad guys in this city…that's the best part of this job." Isabel couldn't agree more.

But soon the real fun started for the two female vigilantes. As soon as the two females had taken the plugs out of their ears, Sara (who was wearing night vision googles) dived through the window she and Isabel had just broken by lobbing the non-lethal weapons through it, and immediately began knocking some of the already disoriented triggermen in the building unconscious with her staff. Isabel took a slightly more pragmatic approach to combat, using the tranq gun that Oliver had commissioned Felicity to make for his girlfriend to snipe some of the gunmen in building below through the open window that Sara had just jumped through.

Isabel was good with firearms, as she had proven time and time again over the past few weeks, coming second only to Diggle in close quarters gun marksmanship and firing rate in the new Arrow Cave training room. But Isabel's enhanced senses gave her an edge over the military vet when shooting in the dark, even when John was given the aid of an infrared scope or night vision googles. Also, between Isabel's superior eyesight, and her ability to feel and identify the direction of wind currents on her skin with inhuman accuracy, Isabel was also better at firing shots over very long distances than Oliver's bodyguard was, even when he had the use of both arms. And Isabel made good use of both her natural skill with firearms and her enhanced senses now, as she dropped 12 of the gunmen in the facility to the floor before the brunette's superior hearing picked up the almost imperceptible clicking noise that told her that her non-lethal weapon was out of ammo.

At this point, Isabel noticed that her friend, who had, in an impressive display of close-quarters combat, managed to knock out 9 of the trigger men, and all of the of Vertigo suppliers with her staff with various rapid blows to the head, or back of the neck, was nevertheless, in trouble. Because the three remaining gunmen had now recovered, and were firing shots in Sara's general direction. Furthermore, although the three gunmen were firing blind, and they were still somewhat disoriented by the darkness of the room and the ringing in their ears, they had already come close to hitting the Canary several times, and one of them had already gotten a lucky shot that had managed to hit and disable Sara's night vision googles. The brunette cursed under her breathe, mumbling something about the Canary being a "really stupid friend sometimes", before she threw caution the wind and made 2 leaps, the first into the room the broken second story window led to, and the second through a hole in that broken down room's floor. The Midnight Sentinel then landed right behind the three remaining gunmen who were firing at the Canary, who was hiding behind some crates filled with Vertigo.

The good news was, the gunmen hadn't noticed Isabel's arrival into the building, since they couldn't see the Midnight Sentinel in the dark, or hear the woman hitting the floor behind them over the sound of their own gunfire and the ringing still in her ears. The bad news was, that same gunfire, the flash of the bad guys' firearms, and the sound of gunshots, was somewhat overwhelming for Isabel's enhanced senses when the vigilante was so close to the action. Luckily, Isabel had a couple of ways to counteract the disorienting effects that her enhanced sensed sometimes brought her, and although that first method, focusing on Oliver's breathing and heart rate when the man was nearby, wasn't available, another method was of much use to her here.

Isabel closed her eyes, setting aside her sense of sight for the time being and focusing on her other senses, as she had found that doing so would sometimes allow her to more efficiently process the huge amounts of data her enhanced sensed sent her way. With her sense of smell, Isabel could smell her own perfume and a faint whiff of Sara's own brand, over the almost overpowering stench of the sweat of the gunmen and their unconscious comrades. With her hearing, Isabel was barely able to hear her own heartbeat, as well as the much faster heartbeats of the three remaining gunmen and Sara, who Isabel could tell was fighting the urge to have a panic attack based on the blonde woman's rapid breathing. Isabel was only able to hear any of these things by mentally screening the sound of gunfire from her senses as much as possible.

Finally, with her sense of touch and taste, as well as her more kinesthetic senses, which allowed her to intuitively know where she was in position to every other object in the room without opening her eyes, Isabel was able to get an even greater mental picture of her situation which included a faint taste of gunpowder from the air around her, as well as the intense heat radiating from the nearby gunmen and the muzzle flashes of their glocks. Finally, after Isabel had processed all of this information in just under a second, the new hero was able to use her ability to "see without seeing" to draw one of her swords from its scabbard and rapidly knock all three of the gunmen unconscious with the handle of that weapon in under 2 seconds…while her eyes were still closed.

The next couple of minutes were spent in relative silence, aside from Sara calling her father to pick up the unconscious perps her and Isabel had just taken down, as Isabel and Sara silently tied up all the unconscious criminals in the building, setting all the guns safely to the side of biggest room in the drug den, then destroyed what was, hopefully, the last case of Vertigo in existence with a chemical solution Barry Allen had invented for Team Arrow for that exact purpose.

It was only several minutes later, after Isabel and Sara had regrouped back at the new Arrow Cave and got back into their civilian clothes, that Sara gave Isabel a look that was simultaneously thankful and apologetic. "Thanks. For saving my life back there."

Isabel shrugged. She still wasn't quite comfortable interacting with her new friend yet. Or with having friends at all, for that matter. And it was especially hard for Isabel to try to get along with Sara right now when the slightly younger woman was mad at Oliver and herself based upon something stupid that the blonde woman knew nothing about. But the brunette decided it was only fair that she made an effort to get along with Sara, since the younger woman was obviously trying to offer an olive branch in her direction with her thank you. So she responded in kind. "You're welcome. Don't worry about it. I'm sure if our positions had been reversed, you would have done the same for me…even if you are mad at me and Oliver right now." Isabel added lamely.

Sara sighed. "Yeah. About that. I'm sorry. I was out of line for trying to get you in the middle of all that drama between Oliver and Laurel. In fact. Now that I think about it, I don't even have enough information to know for sure that Oliver did or said anything wrong. It's just…" Sara played with her hair nervously for a few seconds before she added. "My sister had been through a lot lately. And she's been hurt a lot by other people in the past. Including Oliver." Sara sighed again, deeper than before. "And me. So, I don't know if it's because I just feel a sisterly duty to protect my emotionally fragile sister, or out of guilt, or whatever. But I know I have a tendency to be protective of Laurel. Sometimes overly protective. Even so, I shouldn't have taken my frustration over my sister's current distressed state out on you, or even on Oliver, before all the facts were in. I'm sorry about that."

Isabel smirked. "Apology accepted. But I think it's time for me to turn in now. Tomorrow is a big day for me, and an even bigger day for Oliver and Connor..."

Sara smiled. "Oh, that's right! Oliver's son is turning six tomorrow! I might get the chance to meet Connor for the first time tomorrow, but if I don't, can you pass along a message to the little guy? Tell him his dad's friend Sara said Happy Birthday. Oh, and tell Oliver that my family's gift for the youngest member of the Queen family will be in the mail!"

Isabel's smirk widened as she exited the room and said. "I'll tell them!"

* * *

Back in the present...

Dr. Silverson was about to reply to Isabel's statement about Laurel's sister also being a problem for the couple's relationship before the brunette added with a smile. "But I think Oliver, Sara, Laurel and I are actually starting to get past all that drama now. Starting to. But, weirdly enough, there have been other people in Oliver's life that have been more problematic for our relationship than his ex-girlfriends. Especially lately."

Dr. Silverson sat up straighter in his chair and stroked his chin in interest. Apparently, Oliver and Isabel were actually becoming comfortable enough around him to really open up to him during this therapeutic session. And as soon as Oliver and Isabel told him the full extent of their problems, the real therapeutic work could begin! "Okay. I'll bite. Who else has been interfering in the relationship between you two?"

Oliver sighed and ran his hands through his hair before he spoke. "Well, strangely enough. My ex-stepfather has also been making some waves in my family concerning our relationship. His name is Walter Steele."

 **AN: Hello readers, I hope you all enjoyed the second chapter of this story, but as always, feel free to leave a review or PM to let me know what you thought of it, both what was good, and what could use improvement. I am especially concerned with what I could do/improve to increase the amount of views and reviews I am getting for this story, since I seem to be getting fewer views and reviews for AHFAQ so far then I did at the beginning of TSFTDS, and I was sort of wondering why that is. Oh, and case any of you were wondering, this will actually not be a "Laurel bashing" story, and there is a lot more to what is going on with her than you see here. But I did feel that her characterization in his chapter meshed with some of the "mood swings" that Laurel sometimes has on the show. Let me know what you think, though.**

 **As always, I would love to thank my readers and reviewers of this story for their support, encouragement and input, and my beta-reader, without whom this story would be a bigger disaster then the wreck of the Titanic. Thank you all so much!**

 **Until next time, I am…**

 **-supercode**


	3. The Exes: part 2

**Author's note will be at the end of the next chapter!**

…Connor's birthday….

Connor Jonas Hawke's sixth birthday was a huge day for everyone in the Queen household. This was especially true for the newest member of the Queen family himself. The little boy's day started with his grandmother, aunt, and father all waking the soon to be (in a couple of hours, according to the little boy's birth certificate) six year old child. All of his immediate family members greeted Connor with a hug and their fondest wishes for the youngest member of the Queen family to have a "Happy Birthday!"

The little blonde haired boy was somewhat overwhelmed by all of this attention by his new family, as he had been since the day his father had brought him home to his family's mansion. That day, on top of everything else, he had learned that his father, along with Isabel, ran one of the most important, if not the most important, business, called Queen Consolidated, in the town that Connor had just moved to with his family. The little boy had also learned that his aunt also ran an important business called the Verdant, in his new town (although Thea had joked he would have to wait till he was a little older to visit her establishment). He also learned that his grandmother was actually mayor of Starling City (when the little boy had asked what that meant, Moira had smirked and said she pretty much ran the whole city, a revelation which had nearly made Connor's little eyes bulge out of their sockets). For many children living in Happyfields Orphanage, the prestige and power of his new family would have been considered the most important things about the Queens. But this was not the case for Connor.

Sure, Connor, like many other children in the orphanage he came from, had fantasized about the possibility of his father (he had been told repeatedly that his mother was gone while growing up) one day coming to get him. And he had imagined that man would turn out to be a superhero, or a king, or a millionaire (an idea the little boy might have gotten by watching "Annie", a favorite Happyfields Orphanage movie night pick among Connor's peers, a few too many times.) So Connor had, indeed, been excited to find out that, not only did he still have a family that wanted him but hadn't known where he was, but that all of the members of that family were very important people (even though he was a little disappointed that not one of them had listed "superhero", as a profession)…at first. But the novelty of having servants attending to his every need, a large room, and an even bigger house had quickly worn off for the little boy over the past few days.

None of those things were as important to Connor as what he knew was the best thing about the Queen family: that they actually loved him, paid attention to him, and spent time with him. And as he was hugged and congratulated by his dad, aunt, and grandma for the simple accomplishment of reaching six years of age, and his father ruffled his short blonde hair and told his son that "Today is all about you, birthday boy!", Connor couldn't help but think that his sixth birthday was already turning out to be much better than his last one in the orphanage. During his fifth birthday, Connor had only received a small vanilla cupcake (and Connor didn't even like vanilla), a half-hearted congratulations by a few of his peers, and a small smile and hug from his best friend at the orphanage, (a red headed girl named Anna, who was the only thing about the orphanage that Connor actually missed seeing every day), who had been much more enthusiastic than the others when telling him "Happy Birthday!" Connor had let Anna (who loved vanilla) have his cupcake that year.

In contrast, Connor's sixth birthday was just getting started and he was already surrounded by people who obviously loved him. Therefore, soon after being awoken by his family, Connor's face lit up like he was experiencing Christmas, The Fourth of July, **and** his birthday, all rolled into one! But then the little boy's smile dimmed somewhat as he looked around and noticed that one of the people he really wanted to be there was missing. Connor then looked right at his father, and, since he didn't have any more of a filter then most kids his age, the boy just said what was on his mind. "Daddy, where's Isabel? Is she going to be here for my birthday too?!"

Connor was confused as many of the faces around him fell. In truth, there were many things about the relationships between his new family and the brunette woman he and his dad had spent so much time with since Oliver had picked him up from the orphanage that confused him. He knew that his aunt Thea seemed nervous around Isabel for some reason. He also knew that his grandmother acted weird around his dad's girlfriend, so Connor wasn't sure if grandma Moira liked Isabel that much.

And there were also many things about Isabel herself, whom he had spent more time with since the orphanage then anyone besides his dad that he didn't understand. For example, he didn't understand why Miss Rochev was so nice to him and his dad, and occasionally his aunt and grandma, but very reserved with others (at first, Connor had thought the brunette was a little mean to other people sometimes, but his dad had taught him that Isabel wasn't mean, she just didn't like to show her feelings to other people she didn't know so well). But Connor did know that the lady with the brunette hair and hazel eyes, who spent so much time with him and his father, loved him, even if she had never said so aloud. The young boy knew that Isabel loved him because she spent so much time with him, she was always making sure that her boyfriend's son got the best of everything (be it the best seats in a movie theatre, or the most expensive tour of a museum, or even paying a deluxe quick pass so that he wouldn't have to wait in line to go into a kid-friendly attraction), because she spoke in a kind tone of voice when she was talking to him, and because she gave him frequent hugs, just to name a few reasons.

But what confused Connor most was that he knew he loved Isabel too (although he had been too shy and confused about that feeling to say so). This truth was made even more confusing because, even though he loved his aunt and grandma, he still felt more attached to Isabel than he did with anyone other than his dad. And Connor knew, based on the way his daddy interacted with Isabel, that his dad loved her too. That made Connor happy (even if he did find the way his dad would lightly kiss Isabel on the lips right in front of him sometimes, yucky). However, this state of affairs also confused Connor, since he felt like he, his dad, and Isabel interacted just like the families he was already starting to read about in books, even though Isabel wasn't his mom, and his dad wasn't married to, or even living with, her. For all of these reasons, Connor often felt confused and sad whenever Isabel wasn't around for a family event, because he wasn't sure if that was right or not. Usually, Connor wouldn't have said anything about his discomfort in this area, but…it was his birthday, and his dad had said today was all about him. So Connor had no reservations about actually saying something about Isabel not being here this time.

Oliver was the first to reply to his son's inquiry after several awkward seconds of silence in the room. "Of course Isabel will be here soon, little man! There's no way she would miss your sixth birthday! Now, it's time for you to get ready for your day! We'll all be waiting for you in the dining room when you're ready for breakfast!"

Connor smiled at the mention of breakfast, but everyone noticed the boy still wasn't smiling as brightly as he had been before mentioning Isabel's absence. "Okay, daddy! I'll be there soon!" And with those words, everybody departed Oliver's room to let Connor get dressed, brush his teeth, and comb his hair. These were tasks Oliver had tried to help Connor with before, but his son would never let him, muttering something along the lines of: "I'm a big boy, and I can do it myself!" Besides, Oliver knew he and Moira could always help Connor out later if his appearance was less then presentable after he got ready, which didn't happen often for the unusually independent young boy. However, before, Connor could even start getting out of his pajamas, he heard a knock on the door, accompanied by a familiar voice. "Can I come in, birthday boy!?"

Connor smiled. "Okay, aunt Thea! I'm not getting dressed yet!"

The small child's dark-haired aunt walked into the room with her hands behind her back. "Hey Connor, I know your party hasn't started yet, but I thought you might like to have one of your gifts a little early so that you could wear it for the rest of the day if you wanted to! Sorry I couldn't get around to wrapping it, by the way!"

Thea handed her nephew a t-shirt with a lighting symbol identical to the Flash's, and Connor received the gift with a smile that warmed Thea's heart. "Thanks, aunt Thea! It's really cool! Can I really wear this today?"

Thea laughed. "Sure you can, Connor! It's your birthday! I'm glad you like the shirt, because I had to go all the way to Central City to get it for you from one of the street vendors there! But your dad told me you were into superheroes, and I figured since you and the Flash are both from Central City, he would be your favorite!"

Connor's smile went away for a split second, but he put it back on his face before he lied to his Aunt. After all, he didn't want to make Thea unhappy when she had put so much work into getting him a gift he liked. "He sure is!"

Thea's smile grew wider at her nephew's words, and she mentally patted herself on the back for making the spontaneous decision to give Connor his present now, instead of at the boy's party, after she got the chance to wrap it, because it seemed the little boy was starting to forgot his sadness at Isabel not being here already. Still, Thea knew that the fact that Isabel's absence when his family greeted him this morning affected her nephew so much was an indicator of just how close he and Miss Rochev had become. And part of Thea was jealous of the brunette's closeness with her nephew. After all, Thea had initially had some reservations about her brother's most recent significant other which had come from Isabel's history as a villainess who had initially tried to take over QC, some of the words that Slade had spoken on the night her brother and mother had almost been killed about Isabel hating Moira, and Moira Queen's reluctance to discuss in detail why that was. Plus, Isabel had come across as more than a little stand-offish at first.

But, Thea reluctantly admitted to herself, her opinion on Isabel was starting to change due to Isabel's recent behavior. Not only had Isabel saved the lives of many members of the Queen family and helped stop Slade, she had also started acting nicer around Thea, and to a lesser extent, Moira Queen. And when the Russian woman was interacting with Connor or Oliver, the woman became a completely different, much friendlier person. A person that Thea could actually understand her brother falling in love with, or her nephew loving in his own way, as the father and son so clearly did. And it was equally clear to Thea that Isabel loved them too, and that the brunette's presence in their lives made both her brother and nephew happy. Which was why Thea had just now decided to give the woman the benefit of doubt, and that maybe, as Moira had said, she should just let Isabel's past in relation to Robert Queen (who Thea still considered her **real** father), whatever that may be, stay buried. The important thing, Thea thought to herself, was that Isabel made her brother and nephew happy.

Shaking off her serious thoughts, Thea grinned at her nephew. "I'm glad you like the shirt! When you're wearing it today, just remember who loves you more than any other little boy in the whole world!"

Connor hugged his aunt. "Aunt Thea!"

Thea chuckled as she hugged Connor back. "Dam…" Thea caught herself just in time and coughed nervously before amending her words. "I mean, darn right!"

Thea let Connor out of the hug, then spoke in a more serious tone of voice, although the big smile on her face was enough to tell the small boy she was joking. "Now, we both get ready for your special birthday breakfast, or your grandma Moira is going to kill me for holding today's itinerary of events up!"

* * *

The rest of the morning passed relatively smoothly, although both Oliver and Moira shot Thea a slightly disapproving look when they noticed Connor arrive in the dining room with one of Thea's presents to the small boy already on his person. Thea had just shrugged at the disapproving looks, but said nothing, not knowing what she had just started. Immediately after the family was finished eating their breakfast of bacon, eggs, and waffles (Moira and Oliver both usually insisted on feeding Connor healthier faire, but neither was opposed to allowing the newest member of their family to eat his favorite breakfast foods on his birthday), after everyone but the father and son had left the dining room, Oliver decided to follow his sister's example, so as not to be outdone by Thea, and give one of his gifts for Connor to the boy early.

Oliver showed the boy the nicest watch he had ever seen, and after explaining how Connor could use the small Rolex to tell time, he told his son about the device's history. "My dad, your grandpa Robert, he gave me this watch when I was only a little older than you. He said that he wanted me to remember how precious the time he spent with me was to him every time I looked at it. My wrist is too big for me to wear it now, but I would like to give it to you. I know that is what he would have wanted. But only if you can promise to take good care of it, and remember how much you mean to me, how much I love you, whenever you look at it. Can you do those things for me Connor!?"

Connor, not understanding the full significance of what his father had said, but knowing that the watch he was being offered was important, and that his dad loved him, nodded his head vigorously and hugged his dad. "I promise, daddy! I love you too!"

Oliver chuckled and put the watch on his son's wrist after warning him not to let the timepiece get wet (even if it was water resistant, it wasn't completely waterproof). When the father and son joined Thea and Moira in the room where Connor's party would be held in order to give their input on how everything should be set up, Thea smirked at the sight of the expensive watch on her nephew's hand. Moira gave her son a slightly reproachful look that soon morphed into a smile when she recognized the particular watch that Oliver had given her grandson. Soon afterward, the Queen matriarch responded to her progenies' premature gift giving with an early present of her own for Connor: a book about dinosaurs, which her grandson had once told Moira that he loved learning about. The youngest member of the Queen family had then hugged his grandma, and thanked her profusely for the gift, before running off to show his father and aunt what his grandma had given him.

Just by chance, the second that Connor entered the living room nearest the front door, where his father and aunt were seated, shouting about the great present his grandmother had given him, was the same moment that Isabel arrived at the front door of the Queen mansion and rang the doorbell. Moment later, a very surprised Moira Queen answered the door and greeted the younger woman with an obviously forced smile and a civil, but not warm, tone. "Hello, Isabel. This is a surprise. I thought you weren't going to arrive until just before the Queen Consolidated Christmas party."

Isabel very clearly heard the question (what are you doing here?!) beneath Moira's statement, and the smile that had been on the brunette's face was replaced with a stoic look as the younger woman opened her mouth to answer it. But before she could, Connor Hawke who had just seen Isabel at the door, ran towards the brunette screaming "Isabel!" at the top of his lungs, causing the hazel-eyed woman's smile to return as she kneeled down to wrap Connor in her arms and laughed. "I missed you too, Connor! Happy Birthday!"

Then, while Oliver, Connor and Isabel were talking and the latter greeted Oliver with a quick kiss while Connor rolled his eyes… Until Isabel gave him her birthday gift for the young boy, a pair of midnight blue tennis shoes that he had said he wanted a few days ago, causing Connor to hug Isabel all over again while thanking her profusely, Thea Queen stepped towards her mom and spoke. "Actually, I invited Isabel to come a little earlier. As you know, the catering company for the Christmas party canceled on us at the last minute after they had a fire in one of their kitchens, and our kitchen staff are being overworked trying to make a huge amount of food at the last minute. And Isabel had mentioned at one point that she had some experience cooking for staff parties in the past so…I asked her to lend a hand. Besides, Connor and Oliver seem happy to see her here early, so I don't see the problem…"

Moira nodded in acknowledgment to Thea's words, noting what her daughter was really saying: "I invited her early because I knew my brother and nephew would be happier with her here." The Queen matriarch then forced a smile onto her face again and spoke in as polite a tone as she could muster towards the brunette. "My apologies. In that case, welcome to our home. We will, of course, welcome any assistance you would be willing to provide for our staff." Not even allowing Isabel to reply, Moira started walking towards the middle of the house. "I will show you were our kitchens are. I hope you aren't opposed to some hard work, because from what Thea told me, our staff has a lot of work to do while Oliver, Thea, and myself set up some last minute details for the party!"

Isabel smirked. "I've never been afraid of hard work, Mrs. Queen. I'm sure I will be fine!"

Connor raised his hand in excitement. "I'm not afraid of hard work, either! I'll help Isabel!" The young boy looked at Oliver with a puppy dog expression on his face. "Can I help Isabel in the kitchen, daddy?! Please?!"

Moira opened her mouth to protest that kitchen work was not fitting for someone in the Queen family line, but Oliver spoke to his son first. "Sure, why not! This party planning stuff can get kind of boring, anyway. Just be careful and promise me you'll do everything Isabel or the kitchen staff tell you to do, Okay?!"

Connor nodded his head vigorously. "I promise daddy!"

As Isabel led Connor by the hand towards the kitchen while following Moira, Oliver whispered to Isabel, knowing she could hear his voice. "Just don't let him touch anything sharp!" Isabel looked right at Oliver and nodded, indicating that she had heard her boyfriend's request and agreed to comply, before she and Connor entered the kitchens behind Moira.

* * *

The next couple of hours were absolute chaos for Moira, Oliver, and Thea Queen, as they tried to plan and coordinate two parties at the same time. In additions to getting furniture, tables where food and beverages (various types of alcohol for the QC party, soda for Connor's party, and water for both) would be, there was also the human element to consider. Various members of Starling City's 1% kept getting added and dropped from the guest list, as people cancelled their social engagements (and their children's) with the Queen family that day, or decided that their families could come to the party after all. At the very. Last. Minute. In addition, the director of Happyfields Orphanage had just called at 9 A.M. to announce that Connor's friends from the orphanage would be allowed to attend the child's birthday party after all…and that they would be arriving at the Queen mansion a full hour before Connor's party was scheduled to start, prompting Oliver to make a frantic phone call to the entertainer he had set up for his son's party, telling the man he needed to arrive earlier than anticipated. This was something the best magician in Starling City agreed to do…in return for getting paid double his agreed upon rate for having to leave the party before Connor's early.

Neither Connor, nor Isabel were bothered by any of these things, however, as they helped the Queen family's staff prepare the food for the parties. And since Thea had greatly overestimated the amount of help the staff needed, Connor and Isabel were able to help the staff at a leisurely pace while talking and laughing with each other. So, aside from Isabel accidentally cutting her hand a little bit with a dull knife that slipped off of a tomato, which the brunette quickly put antiseptic on and bandaged, after assuring Connor she was okay, things went smoothly in the Queen kitchens.

At one point while Connor was sorting a fruit basket with gloves on and Isabel was chopping up some melons, the brunette turned towards Connor, looked at his brand new Flash shirt, and smiled. "So, Thea told me earlier that she got you a Flash T-shirt for your birthday. It looks really good on you! And getting that must have made you really excited, considering the Flash is your favorite superhero and all!"

Connor averted his eyes from Isabel. "Actually…I did a bad thing, Isabel. I lied. The Flash isn't my favorite hero."

Isabel raised her eyebrow, concerned that Connor, who was usually honest almost to a fault, had already started learning to lie. But she hid her worry from her voice as she inquired. "Why did you lie to your aunt, Connor?"

Connor shrugged. "I didn't want to hurt aunt Thea's feelings. She was so sure that the Flash was my favorite hero, and I didn't want her to be sad if I said he wasn't. And I do like the Flash, he's just not my favorite."

Isabel sighed with relief. She understood now. "I see. You didn't want to hurt Thea's feelings. I understand. But I think Thea would have understood if you had told her the truth. I don't think you need to correct her now though. Still, try not to make a habit of lying, Connor. Trust me when I say a life filled with lies doesn't lead anywhere good."

Connor just nodded, but still wouldn't meet Isabel's eyes. Trying to lighten the mood for the birthday boy, and satisfy her own curiosity at the same, Isabel asked with a smile: "So, who is your favorite hero then?"

Connor's face lit up with a smile, his guilt over lying set aside for the moment, as the boy replied. "The Arrow! Definitely! He doesn't have powers, at least I don't think he does, but he fights bad guys anyway with a bow and arrow, and I always thought archery was cool, but the staff at the orphanage wouldn't let me take archery lessons like some of the older kids because they said I'm too little…"

Isabel smiled as Connor continued talking excitedly in one long run-on sentence about all the reasons he loved archery and the Arrow. The brunette knew at least one of Oliver's gifts for his son, a bow with foam arrows and a Velcro target, would be a hit with the new six year-old. Finally, even though she knew she probably shouldn't ask, Isabel's curiosity got the better off her and she had to ask. "And what do you think of the Arrow's partner? The Midnight Sentinel?"

Connor scrunched up his little face deep in thought. "I don't know much about her. The newsman on TV doesn't talk about her as much as the Arrow, but she must be pretty cool if she helps the Arrow! And her costume is my favorite color, dark blue, as well. So I think she's cool too!" It was at this point that Isabel smiled wider as she mentally thanked Felicity Smoak once again for designing her new hero costume.

Isabel and Connor talked for the next 30 minutes as they prepared food, and the brunette became so lost in her joy while speaking with Connor that she didn't even notice the bandage between her thumb and index finger fall off while she was washing some food. Nor did she notice Connor gawking at the already healed segment of flesh where Isabel's cut had been while the brunette woman started carrying some of the prepared food out to the two parlor areas where the two parties would be. So Isabel had no clue how fast the wheels in Connor Hawke's head were turning when his party started a few minutes later.

* * *

….Two hours later….

Oliver and Isabel shook hands and finished talking with yet another potential investor to excuse himself to talk with someone more interesting. This QC Christmas party hadn't been quite as successful at getting investors then Oliver and Isabel had hoped it would be, even though they spoke to a large number of investors, including a Chinese CEO who had recently moved to America, whom Oliver spoke with in perfect Cantonese (which Isabel made a mental note to ask her boyfriend where he had learned that language, or Russian, for that matter, later). However, the two CEO's attempts to raise more funds for QC (which Oliver hoped would give QC enough capital to help the Glades more, while Isabel wanted to hire some of the workers that had lost their jobs while Isabel had acquired their companies while working for Slade) hadn't been entirely without merit. Surprisingly, the one investor that the couple and co-CEOs had managed to secure was actually the man that Isabel had blown off to help Oliver pick up his child on time just days ago.

Bruce Wayne, the newly "back from the dead" (Oliver noted there seemed to be a lot of those people showing up these days) man, who had recently reclaimed his family's company after being "away" for several years, had actually flown in all the way across the country to attend the QC Christmas/investment party. He had then proceeded to talk to Oliver and Isabel a grand total of five minutes ,during which he had had shrugged off Oliver's apology for making Isabel cancel her appointment with Mr. Wayne a while ago to help him pick up his son, saying that "I, off all people, understand the importance of family. Don't worry about it." The man had then agreed to invest almost $3 billion worth of Wayne Enterprises' resources and funds into helping Queen Consolidated, and by extension, Starling City, get back on its feet after the Undertaking. The man had then casually walked off, saying he would meet with Oliver and Isabel later to hammer out more of the details, and casually offering to fly Oliver out to Gotham sometime to check out his company's applied sciences division. The whole encounter had felt very strange for Oliver.

Now, several minutes later, Oliver shrugged off his thoughts about the strange behavior the last surviving Wayne, who had already left for Gotham, had exhibited tonight, and started walking towards two people he actually wanted to talk to, his friend, Felicity Smoak, and her boyfriend, Barry Allen. Oliver was glad that, despite the fact that both his mother and Isabel (whom Oliver noted, strangely seemed to agree on a lot of things as far as business strategy went) had insisted on inviting investors to this year's QC Christmas party, there were also several QC employees, as well as their families, friends and loved one's in attendance as well. After all, his father had told Oliver years ago that the annual Christmas party was supposed to be all about showing appreciation for employees of the company, giving them a chance to relax while enjoying the company of their co-workers, friends, and family members.

With that though in mind, Oliver made small talk with his friend for several minutes before quietly taking Barry aside to an empty bedroom, locking the door, and, in a hushed tone, sharing his recently acquired philosophy with the Flash about a hero needing to be able to do "whatever it takes" to protect his loved ones if one wanted to have people they cared about in their lives and be a vigilante at the same time. Oliver had then elaborated that Barry may one day have to kill a villain in order to protect someone he cared about. However, the archer noted that, having powers, the Flash had more options when dealing with villains, and that he hoped Barry would never have to make that choice.

Seeing that Barry was just nodding and frowning at his words, as if he was still making up his mind about whether Oliver was right about it being okay to kill to protect someone he loved, if necessary. Oliver put his hand on Barry's shoulder (being aware that the meta-human could easily swat it away at super-speed, although the scarlet speedster seemed to be suitably intimidated anyway) and spoke in a firm, serious tone. "I'm not joking about this, Barry. I don't know if Felicity has told you about this yet, but I once had to break my 'no killing' rule to save her life from Count Vertigo. I don't feel good about that, but looking back, I don't know what else I could have done besides allowing my friend to die. And I would do the same thing again, if it was absolutely necessary to save someone I cared about. On a more personal note, Felicity may be your girlfriend now, but she is also one of my best friends. And I'm starting to consider you a friend too, Barry. So I expect that, if you ever **had to** make the same choice of allowing a villain, maybe someone in your rogue's gallery, to hurt Felicity, or killing that villain…that you will make the right decision. Do we understand each other, Mr. Allen?!"

Barry looked down at the ground for several seconds before he nodded and looked Oliver, who had taken his hand away from Barry's person, in the eye. "I think we do. You've given me a lot to think about. But if you don't mind, I would like to go rejoin Felicity at the party now."

Oliver smiled, and the seriousness that had been in his posture vanished. "That sounds like a great idea! This is a party after all, the two of you should enjoy it! I was going to check on my son's party and see how he and his friends were doing anyway. And I'm sure that Connor will love the present that you and Felicity left at the door for him earlier, whatever it is. Thank you!"

Barry smiled. "Don't mention it. Tell Connor happy birthday from the two of us, okay?"

Oliver nodded as he walked out the door and towards the room where his son's party was being thrown. "I will be sure to tell him."

Oliver's trek towards his son was interrupted, however, by a voice that Oliver Queen was very familiar with. The blonde man turned towards the dark skinned man who was speaking to him, as Walter said. "Oliver, if you wouldn't mind giving me a moment of your time, there is something that I would like to talk to you about. In private, if you don't mind."

Oliver sighed as he addressed his former step-father. "Can it wait a minute, Walter?! I was just going to check up on my son at his party a few rooms away, and, as we already discussed earlier today, I am still on schedule paying back the loan from your company."

Walter smiled, answering the first part of Oliver's statement first. "Yes, Moira told me all about your discovery that you had a son several weeks ago, and that you were able to secure custody of him. I do believe congratulations are in order, Oliver!" The man offered his hand to Oliver, who gladly shook it, before the Bank CEO frowned. "But actually, the business I wanted to discuss with you is of a more…personal nature. And it is somewhat urgent. I promise I will not keep you long."

Oliver just sighed and nodded before leading Walter to one of the mansion's kitchens that was no longer in use after all of today's food had been prepared, since he did not want to arouse suspicion by using the same room every time he wanted to have a private conversation with someone. In truth, Oliver wasn't sure whether or not he was looking forward to talking to Walter right now. To say he had mixed feelings about the man would be a massive understatement. True, Walter had been there for Thea, and later, Oliver, for a long time, even when the blonde man had initially been mistrustful of the man whom he perceived to have taken his father's place while the archer had been stranded on the island. And even after Walter's divorce from Moira, Walter had, time and time again, said he still cared about both Oliver and Thea, and would always be there for them. Furthermore, the man had proven his words by using his company's assets to help keep Oliver from losing Queen Consolidated just months ago.

On the other hand, there was the matter of Walter's divorce from Moira to consider. Logically, Oliver understood the reasons why Walter had divorced his mom, all of which had to do with her part in the Undertaking, Walter's kidnapping, and Moira's part in disappearing the Queen's Gambit away. However, part of the blonde man was still angry that the divorce had broken the Queen Matriarch's heart and caused her to nearly have a nervous breakdown. And that feeling of anger had only intensified when Oliver found out that his mother had only participated in Malcolm's plots under duress while protecting her family, and that she had no involvement with either Walter's kidnapping or the sinking of the Queen's Gambit until after the fact. But by the time all of that information came to light, Moira and Walter had already been divorced, and the damage had been done.

Which was a shame really, because Oliver, having learned to read body language very well during his years in exile, could tell that Moira and Walter still loved each other. It was actually quite obvious to anybody who knew how to read the two individual's smiles, nods, and the tone of voice they used when they conversed with each other. And that perplexed Oliver. He didn't understand how two individuals who obviously still loved each other could stay divorced. True, a similar thing had happened with his friend Diggle and his ex, Lyla (both of which were currently helping chaperon Connor's party), but those two were actually giving their relationship another shot, something that Oliver sincerely wished those two the best of luck with.

Oliver mentally shook off his distracting thoughts after he and Walter arrived at the momentarily abandoned kitchen area and spoke with as easy-going a tone of voice as he could manage at the moment. "This seems as good a place as any to talk. What did you want to speak about, Walter?"

The older man sighed. "I'm sorry to have to say this to you, Oliver. Because in most regards, you have actually had a pretty level head on your shoulders lately, and you have been acting a lot more grown up and responsible in a number of matters in the last few months, especially in regards to your son."

Oliver shrugged. "Thanks."

Walter nodded. "You're welcome. Also, as you know, I usually don't feel the need to get involved in your personal life, but, since I did promise to keep looking out after you and Thea, there is something that I think I need to speak my mind about. I believe your current relationship with Isabel Rochev is an ill-advised one."

Oliver groaned internally. He really should have seen this conversation coming. Unaware of Oliver's thoughts, Walter continued speaking. "She is, after all, the person who was trying to take over your company just months ago, Oliver, when you had to ask for my help to stop that from happening. I believe the woman is taking you for a ride, and that she is just pretending to care about you so that she can take over Queen Consolidated the moment you let your guard down. Please understand, I'm not trying to judge or criticize your choices. I'm just trying to look out for you…"

Oliver nodded his head while he waged an internal battle to stay calm. "I appreciate that Walter, I really do. But if you had been at Queen Consolidated just weeks ago, you would have seen that I have already 'let my guard down' around Isabel on one occasion, and she did not try to take over the company again, even though I had foolishly made it all too easy to do so at the time. In fact, Isabel encouraged the board to support me and my family at that time. And if you had been around my family lately, you would also have known that Isabel has done a lot, and made a lot of sacrifices, for the Queen family recently (Oliver felt bad that he couldn't defend his girlfriend by telling Walter how she had saved his and his mother's life, and even "died" for him, since that might give away her secret identity, and his own)! And she has put a lot of effort into getting along with the family, and even helped me raise Connor since I picked him up at the orphanage. I know Isabel had her problems in the past, but believe me when I say that she has changed for the better! People can change, Walter! I did!"

Walter nodded, making note of the volume of Oliver's voice, which while not quite loud enough to reach outside of this kitchen, had gotten progressively louder while the younger man had been speaking. "You're right, Oliver. People can change for the better, as you have. But in my experience, it is a very rare thing. And I'm not quite convinced, merely based upon what you've told me, that any changes Miss Rochev may have gone through are permanent. So I still don't trust her."

Walter held out his hand as he saw Oliver was about to protest his words. "But I know I could be wrong about that. Maybe Isabel really has become a better person since I saw her months ago. For your sake, for your family's sake, I hope you are the one that is in the right here. Regardless, there is something else I think you need to know about Miss Rochev, Oliver."

The older man sighed. "And I'm sorry that I have to tell you this, and risk tainting your memory of your late father, my friend. But you are leaving me little choice in the matter."

The African American man sighed. "Years ago, before the Queen's Gambit, I discovered, quite by accident, that your father was having an affair. An affair he had been having for several months, actually. At one point, your father had even attempted to leave your mother for this person years ago. That woman's name…was Isabel Rochev. So I think you will understand now that it isn't proper for you to be dating your father's former mis…."

Now Oliver's voice took on a low, angry tone. "Wait. You are telling me you knew about that too?! You knew that when you were helping me keep half my company, and you never thought to say anything to me about my father's…old business with Isabel?! I can't believe that both you and my mother kept that information from me for months before Isabel confessed to me about that affair a few weeks ago!" Oliver had decided it would be best not to mention that Isabel had only admitted what had happened after his mother had told him about his father's previous affair with the brunette, in broad terms, weeks ago.

Walter, for the first time since Oliver had known him, actually looked shocked as he spoke in a low, barely audible tone. "Well…I certainly didn't know that you already knew about Isabel's affair with your father. And I would definitely not have expected that you would continue to disregard your family's name, or your father's memory, by continuing to covert around with that woman after she told you what she and your father had done! To make matters worse, you are doing so right in front of your mother, the very person your father and that woman wronged! I had no idea that your mother knew about that affair, but…"

Thankfully, it was at the moment that Moira Queen, who had seen Walter and her son step into this kitchen together, and had decided to investigate what they were talking about, entered the room and interrupted the discussion between Walter and Oliver, the latter of which had been balling his hands into fists and had been preparing to shout something at Walter he probably would have regretted later. "And I had no idea that you knew about my late husband's affair with Isabel, either, Walter! You know, even before you and I had a romantic relationship and got married after Robert passed away, I considered you my friend! And I find it quite interesting that in all these years, from before the Queen's Gambit, and during all the years of our relationship, you never once thought to tell me about that affair!"

Walter lowered his head slightly. "Moira, I…I wanted to tell you, but Robert was my best friend before he died, and I didn't want to betray him either. And after he passed…I thought you had been blissfully ignorant of everything that had been going on back then, and I didn't want to ruin your memory of Robert. So I said nothing. I suppose it wasn't the best decision. Besides…."

Walter's face became hard and he spoke in an understated, but defiant fashion even as the man's eyes gave away that he was speaking from a position of great emotional pain. "You of all people are in no place to judge someone for keeping secrets, Moira! And furthermore, I can't believe that you are allowing your son to see the woman that…"

Moira's tone grew more serious than Oliver had heard it since she had basically thrown Oliver out of the house temporarily for being rude to Slade Wilson before the Queen matriarch knew the latter party was evil, although the woman's tone was still low in volume. "How I raise my children is none of your business, Walter! Not since you signed those divorce papers! You are right that I shouldn't have judged you for not telling me about that affair before, and I'm sorry about that, but my son is a grown man who can see who he wants, and I would appreciate if you would stop trying to tell me how to be a mother to Oliver here! And you know what?! Of the two of us, at least I'm the one who is TRYING to put the past behind them, and not let hate and anger, and bitterness over past wrongs control my actions!"

Moira started crying right there in the kitchen, and Oliver rushed towards his mother to hug her as she did so, while Walter stood where he was with a pained expression on his face, feeling helpless and confused about how he should react. So the man said in an almost feeble voice that was not like him at all. "I shouldn't have said all of that, Moira. I'm sorry."

But neither of the two Queens in the room, who were soon joined by Thea, who had been standing right outside at least long enough to see her mother burst into tears, although none of the other three people in the room knew how long the younger Queen female might have been eavesdropping, had heard Walter's softly spoken words. The two children hugged their mother as the older woman continued crying while she looked right at Oliver and spoke. "I know I haven't been doing a very good job at that, Oliver! At letting things go. I know that I have still been standoffish with Isabel. And don't think I don't see how hard she is trying to make up for…" Moira briefly glanced toward her daughter, uncertain about how much Thea had heard before she continued speaking cautiously even as she was still sniffling. "What she did, she did in the past with all the good things she has been doing for this family lately. And also for you, and for Connor. I do see it. And I'm trying to accept that. To let what happened go. I am trying! I'm sorry, I just need more time!"

Oliver hugged his mother for a few more seconds before he sighed. "I understand. What happened…" Oliver was worried that he couldn't read whether Thea's gaze was a perplexed one or not as he spoke in vague terms. "Back then was a big deal. I can understand why it's taking time for you to get over everything. But I appreciate that you are trying to. That shows me how much you care about me, and I love you for that, mom!"

Walter sighed, and started walking towards the other three individuals in the room while trying to think of something to say that wouldn't just make things worse, before he was met by Oliver Queen's angry gaze. "I think you should leave now."

Walter seemed speechless as he tried to utter a reply. "But I…"

Then Thea looked at the British educated man, even while Moira refused to meet her ex's gaze, and the younger woman said. "Just go, Walter."

The older man in the room nodded his head, and he was about to reply, before he was interrupted by the sound of someone screaming and crying in another room of the house. And those screams and cried were unmistakably those of a child.

Their discussion, and all the negative emotions that came with, put aside for the moment, all four of the people in the kitchen ran out of the room to investigate the source of the noise. As they did so, Oliver prayed to whomever might be listening that his son and his friends were okay.


	4. The Exes: part 3

5 minutes ago….

Connor Hawke sighed. Up until now, his party had been going pretty well. His dad had hired a great magician who had done a lot of cool tricks, and then he and the other kids had eaten pizza, just before Connor opened the mountain of presents he had received, mostly from people he didn't know, including a cool toy crime lab set some Mr. Wayne had put in the gift pile, but several of them, including a new game system with several games, a Nerf bow and arrow set, a football, and a pitching glove and baseball, were from Connor's new family members. But to Connor, the best gift of all had been that his dad had arranged for all of his friends from the orphanage to attend his party too! And although some of those kids felt awkward that they hadn't had any money to buy gifts for their friend, Connor had assured them that he was just glad they were all there, and that was a big enough present.

After opening presents, Connor's dad's friend, a Mr. John Diggle, as well as that man's girlfriend and Connor's nanny (whom Connor had a bad feeling about since the first time he met her for some reason, even though his grandma said she was well qualified to take care of him), who had all been supervising the entire party so far, had lead all the children present in a bunch of classic party games like pin the tail on the donkey, breaking a piñata, etc. For the most part, the rich kids in suits (the children of Oliver's "business friends") that Connor didn't know at all, and Connor's friend's from the orphanage, who were wearing more relaxed clothing, like Connor himself was, got along rather well. Even though the two groups of children didn't know each other well, all of them had been able to have fun playing games with each other.

But then the adults had run out of games for the kid's to play, since the children from the orphanage had arrived earlier, forcing an early start to Connor's party, and there was still about an hour left in the party to go. So, apart from eating the two cakes that had finally been brought out a couple minutes ago (it had taken time to fulfill Connor's last minute demand that a vanilla cake be provided in addition to the chocolate one he had already asked for, since Connor had only asked for the vanilla cake after his father had told him that he was going to break his son's friends from the orphanage to the party), there wasn't much for the children to. The adult's had encouraged Connor and his friends to use their imaginations and find some other ways to play on their own, and some of the children, including Connor and some of the other boys, who were playing tag, did so. But many of the other children were obviously starting to get bored.

As sometimes happens when a number of children with a sugar high have nothing better to do, one of the children in the group, a six year-old named Blaine Uppercrust, the son of William Uppercrust III, who ran a profitable shipping company, decided to cause some trouble, just for the fun of it. The little dark haired boy, who was actually tall for his age, walked right up to a five year-old red-headed girl who was quietly sitting in a chair in one of the corners of the room, quietly eating her second piece of cake with vanilla frosting, which she only usually got to eat in the form of a cupcake twice a year on her and her friend's birthdays. In truth, Anna was usually more outgoing than this, but the girl had just gotten glasses three days ago, and she was still nervous about her appearance when she wore the oval shaped lenses and frames on her face, so she had decided to spend as much of the party as possible by staying out of sight.

Unfortunately, Blaine had no intention of leaving the little red-headed girl alone. So the young boy walked right up to the little girl and, in one fluid motion, pulled Anna's glasses off her face, then ran off, forcing the little girl to give chase, spilling her slice of cakes on the floor as she did so, as Blaine laughed. "Ha ha! I got your glasses, four eyes! You look really ugly with them on, so I thought I would take them off your hands!"

By the time, Anna caught up to Blaine, all of the eyes in the room were on those two children, and Diggle got up from his chair to end the conflict between them now. But by the time he did so, a crowd of children had gathered around Anna and Blaine, slowing the adults' progress towards those two. And all the while, Anna was vainly trying to reach for her glasses as Blaine held them high over his head.

Then, after Anna tried to pull the older boy's arm down, things went from bad to worse as Blaine pushed Anna to the ground, making the young girl cry. Blaine just sneered in response to Anna's distress. "That will teach you to touch me, you little fire-haired peasant! Someone has to teach you to respect your betters and…"

Blaine's words were cut off by a tap to the dark-haired boy's shoulder, which caused Blaine to turn around and open his mouth to talk to the person who had dared to interrupt him while he was talking. But before he could even yell: "What!" a tiny fist impacted against Blaine's nose, breaking the fragile cartilage in that area, causing the center of Blaine's face to begin bleeding profusely as the taller boy fell to the ground.

Connor ignored Blaine's cries of anguish as he picked up the glasses the dark haired boy had dropped, helped Anna to her feet, and put her spectacles back on her face. "Don't listen to him, you look pretty with these on."

It was only then, while several other adults, who had heard a children crying, were already rushing into the room, that Diggle and Lyla were able reach the three children in the center of that room. Lyla took a look at Blaine's noise, saw it was broken, and quickly snapped it back into place. Meanwhile, Diggle talked to Connor and Anna to hear their version of events even though he had seen most of what had happened. At the same time, Connor's nanny, Maybridge Popuns, who seemed far too calm, considering the current situation, in Diggle's opinion, tried get the other children to disperse as she spoke to some of the angry parents, including Oliver Queen and Mr. Uppercrust, who had burst into the room and demanded to know what was going on. Diggle looked around nervously at the other children in the room, afraid World War K could break out at any moment, and that the kids from the orphanage and the children from more wealthy parents might go at each other's throats in the aftermath of Connor punching Blaine. Thankfully, that did not happen, as most of the kids in both groups seemed to agree that Blaine had started it by stealing Anna's glassed and pushing her, and several kids from both groups loudly stated that Blaine "had it coming."

None of this of course, appeased William Uppercrust III, who screamed in Oliver Queen's face that he would be seeing the Queen family in court over what Connor had done to his son. "I will sue all of you into Kingdom Come! I swear it!"

It was Moira Queen (who had long since dried her tears from her face) who answered that challenge when she saw the angry look in her son's face and decided not to let Oliver say or do something he might regret. "Do whatever you want, Mr. Uppercrust. But my family has better lawyers then yours. And if you sue, they will countersue. And since your son was clearly then instigator in this conflict today, they will win."

Isabel Rochev, who had arrived in the room only seconds after her boyfriend, then stepped forward right next to Moira and Oliver. "And if their lawyers can't beat yours, mine will."

Walter then stepped next to the brunette woman, making Isabel raise her eyebrow in a skeptical way that made Oliver wonder if she had unintentionally eavesdropped on the conversation in the kitchen (Isabel had told him that she sometimes did this accidentally, since her hearing seemed naturally to focus on Oliver's voice and heartbeat at times. But Isabel said nothing as Walter added. "And mine."

Thea then stepped next to her brother as well and crossed her arms defiantly.

Apparently, the Uppercrust family got the message, because Mrs. Uppercrust, who had arrived just a minute ago, urged her husband to just let it go, and the small family of three left the Queen mansion, while telling Lieutenant Lance, who Moira had invited to the party as part of her "protection detail" (although the man had been encouraged to bring his daughters along to the QC party as compensation), that they wouldn't be pressing charges. Even so, Mr. Uppercrust made a lot of noise about Queen Consolidated never getting any business from his company ever again.

Oliver just shrugged at that and turned towards his girlfriend. "I can live with that. What about you, partner?"

Isabel smirked. "Sounds fine with me. His company never did much business with QC anyway, and he was unlikely to be an investor for our company so…" Isabel added in a whisper only her boyfriend, who was now standing right next to her, could hear. "To hell with him!"

Only Lieutenant Lance however, said out loud what most of the people in the room were thinking just after William left the room. "What an asshole."

This actually caused many of the adults in the room to laugh as several individuals, including Sara and Laurel Lance, who had been standing beside their father since he entered the room, nodded in agreement.

Connor, and most of the other kids, however, were unaware of any of the drama the young blonde child's actions had caused among the adults. Oliver's son was mostly only paying attention to his red headed friend, who was now walking towards Connor with a smile as she spoke. "Thanks for getting my glasses back. Happy Birthday! I feel bad that I don't have a gift for you though, so…"

Anna quickly leaned towards Connor and kissed the boy's right cheek before running off. The young boy then stood, speechless for several seconds as he held a hand up to the cheek his friend had just kissed. He was completely unaware that he was blushing as he did so.

This spectacle was not missed by one Thea Queen, who had pointed out her nephew's interaction with Anna while it was still going on and said: "Check out our little Casanova over here."

Both Connor's aunt and grandmother found the sight amusing, and the latter smirked as she said Connor definitely reminded her of Oliver at that age with the way he interacted with girls. But it was Isabel's amused reaction to what had just happened that got the biggest response from Oliver, as his girlfriend whispered into the Archer's ear. "I guess Connor is a gallant fighter and a lover. He's just like his dad!"

Oliver gulped, thinking of all of the problems he had brought upon himself in his interactions with the opposite sex during his life. The man whispered so softly that only Isabel, who gave her boyfriend a confused look, heard what the blonde man said. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of!"

* * *

It had been a very long day for Oliver Queen. After the little ruckus that Connor had caused had died down, Oliver had talked to his son to make sure that he understood he shouldn't use violence except when it was necessary to defend himself or others, while simultaneously congratulating the young boy for defending his friend. Then Oliver had passed along a number of happy birthday wishes for Connor from some of Oliver's friends and family; although, Walter, Felicity, Barry, Sara Lance, and surprisingly, Laurel and Quentin Lance, all elected to give their best wishes to little Connor in person after they greeted Oliver's son for the first time.

A little while little later, Thea and Walter left. At the same time, many of the QC guests started leaving the Queen mansion with their children as that party wound down. At around the same time, the bus came to take Connor's orphan friends back to Happyfields, and Oliver had noted that his son had almost seemed forlorn as he and Anna waved goodbye to each other just before the bus departed. Oliver had actually sighed at the sight, as the man secretly hoped that his son would not have as many heartbreaks in front of him as he had experienced or caused in his own life. Soon there were no more guests left at Connor's party, and only a handful of QC employees left at the Christmas party, so Oliver decided to tuck his very tired son in for the night. By the time, Oliver had come back downstairs, Moira was talking to Lieutenant Lance next to the front door of the of the mansion, and all the other guests, besides that man's daughters, which Oliver didn't know where they were, had left. So Oliver had went into the main leaving room and plopped down on a chair next to the one Isabel was currently sitting in.

The blonde man sighed and told Isabel that Connor was sound asleep, then added: "It's been a really long day, I got to tell you. I'm really envying your unlimited stamina right about now, Isabel."

Isabel frowned, got up from her chair and stood behind Oliver as she began massaging her boyfriend's shoulder. "Well, I can't give you my stamina, but I can help you with some of the tension in your shoulders. My enhanced sense of touch can tell me exactly which of your nerve clusters are hurting…."

Isabel gently pressed on one sore spot on Oliver's back to illustrate her point, and the Arrow instantly felt much better before the brunette finished. "And how hard I need to press on them to help with that. I know this is helping."

Oliver smiled, leaning into his girlfriend's touch. "I love you."

The brunette smirked. "I love you too, Oliver!"

The blonde haired man sighted then. "But if we keep this up much longer, my mom is bound to walk in here any second and have a heart attack."

Isabel shook her head. "She won't. I'm using my senses to eavesdrop on everyone on this floor to make sure we aren't interrupted unexpectedly. I can hear everything that is going on within that area."

That piqued Oliver's interest, and although he knew he really should have expressed disapproval for Isabel spying on people, he couldn't find fault with the reason she was doing so at the moment, and he was curious about why his mother was talking to Quentin Lance at the moment. So, with another sigh, Oliver gave into his curiosity and asked: "So what are my mom and the Lieutenant talking about?"

Isabel chuckled and said in a teasing voice. "Asking me to eavesdrop on your mother and report what she says to you? For shame, Oliver"!

Oliver shrugged. "I'm just concerned is all. I don't want my mom getting hurt because of her tough on crime platform, and I'm guessing Lieutenant Lance has something to do with that…."

Isabel smiled. "I'm just joking with you, Oliver! Your mom is trying to make Quentin Captain of the SCPD, but he doesn't want to take it because he feels he is being bought by the Queen family because of how much Moira has been helping him advance his career recently. He's talking a good game, but, based upon how persuasive your mother is, as well as the Lieutenant's heart-rate and breathing, he will probably accept Moira's offer before the day is over, if only to protect Sara."

Oliver nodded. He was honestly impressed with how much control Isabel had been exhibiting with her sensory abilities, but still: "I could have told you that. That man will do just about anything to protect his children, just like my mother seems to be willing to do anything to protect me and Thea. I think that's one of the reasons Moira and Quentin respect each other so much and get along so well. They both put family first."

Isabel actually looked deep in thought after Oliver said this, but the blonde man didn't know this because his girlfriend was still massaging his shoulders from behind him. In any case, Isabel didn't have long to think about what Oliver had said, before she heard a couple of female voices arguing about something, before the blonde haired owner of one of those voices, Sara Lance, pushed her older sister into the room while saying. "Just apologize to him and get it over with!"

Laurel Lance, who had just been nearly thrown into the same room as Oliver and Isabel, made eye contact with both members of the couple. Isabel eventually stopped messaging Oliver's shoulders so the relaxed man would open his eyes and notice his ex-had entered the room. But Isabel intentionally waited a few seconds before she stopped massaging her boyfriend's shoulders, giving the eldest Lance girl a very clear signal that she should remember that Oliver was her man now.

When Oliver finally did open his eyes and spotted Laurel, his gray eyes widened in surprise as he stood up. "I'm sorry, Laurel, I didn't see you enter the room. It's um…good to see you again. Oh, and I don't think you've formally met my girlfriend, Isabel Rochev…."

Isabel had her old stoic expression on her face again as she crossed the room to shake Laurel's hand. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Lance. Oliver has told me so much about you."

Laurel laughed nervously. "Most of it good, I hope."

Isabel didn't reply to that as Laurel slowly turned towards Oliver. "Um…I actually wanted to talk to you again, Oliver. And apologize for some of the things I said yesterday. I need to apologize for a lot of things actually… and explain myself. But I would really like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind."

Laurel turned towards Isabel. "If that's okay with you. I promise I just want to talk to my friend for a moment. That's all."

Isabel reluctantly nodded as she noted Laurel's resting heart rate indicated she was telling the truth. "Alright then. I needed to leave soon to take care of some follow up business for QC anyway." The brunette gave Oliver a look, since both of them knew that The Midnight Sentinel and the Arrow would be hitting the streets hard tonight before the two of them retired for the evening at her place.

The brunette then turned toward her boyfriend and gave him a quick three-second, open mouthed kiss, before she started to leave the room, and added as if it were an afterthought as she was walking away. "Oh, and Oliver, don't forget you're supposed to meet me at my apartment in a couple of hours. With how busy our lives are we need all the…" Isabel made sure to put a little extra suggestibility to her words. "Alone time we can get!"

Oliver rolled his eyes and smiled, since he was more amused than annoyed by Isabel's territorial behavior towards his person. However, his face took on a more serious expression as he turned to face Laurel before sitting down in a chair again. "So, you said you wanted to talk. So as your friend, I'm here to talk. But I certainly hope this talk ends better than our last two."

Laurel sighed. "It will be. I promise. First things first, I wanted to apologize for being such a bitch to you lately." The eldest of the Lance sisters sat down in a chair next to Oliver's and sighed. "Especially what I said to you…about Isabel, and about Connor….that was way out of line."

Oliver nodded. "It was. But I know you've been having a rough time lately…"

Laurel shook her head. "That's no excuse. I mean, first of all, regardless of who his mother was, Connor is your son, and I had no right to try to make you feel bad for spending time with him! And secondly, none of that shit that I said about Isabel was even true, or even made any sense! So, I insulted her for no reason other than the fact that she and Connor seem thick as thieves already…"

Oliver smiled. "I'm surprised they bonded so quickly too. Surprised, but…" Oliver's expressing turned thoughtful, although the smile never left his face. "Happy."

Laurel nodded and spoke, interrupting Oliver's train of thought. "Good. Believe it or not, I am happy for you. I wasn't yesterday but…I realized something last night. Whoever Connor's mother was, and I don't really want to know, whatever happened…It's in the past now. And I should just be able to get over it. It's all in the past, just like you and me…and Tommy!"

Oliver cautiously put a comforting hand on Laurel's arm as she burst into tears. "And I realize now, that I wasn't mad because you cheated on me. Or even that you had a kid with someone else. Well, mostly not that. Damn it, I'm not sure I'm actually in love with the person you are now, because other than knowing you are the Arrow, I don't even really know the man who came back from the island!"

Oliver drew his hand away, but responded to his ex's words. "I understand. You miss who we used to be. The people we were, the relationship we had before I threw all of that away and stepped onto that boat with your sister. I understand all of that, because I felt the exact same way when I first got back from the island. I kept remembering how well we got along before, how much we loved each other, your dream of us getting married and having a family someday. And I thought, especially after Tommy broke up with you…I thought that maybe I had a second chance to get things right. That we could still live those dreams."

The Arrow shook his head. "But you were right. What you said after Tommy died, that it wouldn't work anymore. That too much had changed. It took me some time, and falling for Isabel to help me realize it, but you were right. And it's not just because I cheated on you in the past. It's because we are both completely different people now. I can only speak for myself, but that stupid, arrogant kid that stepped onto the Queen's Gambit…the man you loved, he died on that island a long time ago. Furthermore, it pretty obvious you have changed too, so…"

Laurel shook her head harder and continued to cry. "You're right, but it's not that which is upsetting me!" Laurel quickly amended her words. "Okay, it's not just that! It' just…as far back as I can remember, shortly after you, me, and Tommy all became friends in second grade, I remembered thinking that one day, I was going to marry either you or Tommy, I hadn't really decided at the time…"

Laurel laughed and dried her eyes off with a tissue while Oliver listened silently to his ex's words. "And then, later, I thought that I would have a family with you…but then everything happened with the shipwreck, and my sister and…a little while later, I ended up with Tommy, and started dreaming of having a family with him. I…I didn't appreciate Tommy enough, and I still held on to all my dreams of what could have been with you after you came back…and that's why he left. Because I was too stupid to see that you and I were over. But I did love him, and he loved me. And that's why he's dead now! Because he came to save me from the Undertaking when I was too stupid to listen to everybody telling me to get the hell out of the Glades! I didn't appreciate him, and still he came for me…and he died because of me! I loved him, I still love him, I let him down, and then I, for all intents and purposes, killed him!"

Oliver stood up, finally realizing that it was this misplaced guilt that had driven his ex to the bottle before. But the Arrow decided it was time for that guilt to stop right now. The man hugged his ex with one arm as he spoke. "No, Tommy is dead because his father, the Dark Archer, was a psychopath who killed him. Him and over 500 other people. I did my fair share of blaming myself for Tommy's death because I couldn't save him as the Hood. That's why I exiled myself for a while. That's why I left. I didn't know how to deal with that guilt when everywhere I went in this city reminded me of him. But over time, with a little help from my friends, I realized that Tommy's death, that all of those deaths, were not my fault. And Tommy's death sure as hell wasn't your fault. Tommy made his own choice to come for you. You didn't force him to do that, and you certainly didn't activate the earth-quake machine that killed him and a lot of other people. It wasn't your fault."

Laurel sighed and pulled away from Oliver. "I know that. And I've told myself that so many times since I stopped drinking that I almost believe it now. But that isn't the most messed up part. The worst part is that…I think I wanted to get back together with you because I felt that you were safe. Familiar. And as long as I thought that there was a chance for that to happen, I thought I could have some normalcy in my life again. Not as good as when you, me and Tommy were all best friends before but…And then, when I saw you, Isabel and Connor there together yesterday, acting like you were already a family. I realized that was never going to happen. That against all odds, renowned playboy Oliver Queen was starting a family with a woman…but not with me. That it would never be me."

Laurel laughed again, but it sounded forced as she added. "But after I got home last night, I realized something. I didn't even want that to be me anymore. I didn't really love you that way anymore, or want to have a family with you. I had just wanted something familiar. And that when I figured it out…I didn't want to be in a relationship with **you** , have a family with **you**. I wanted that with Tommy! And still do, even though that's no longer possible! And I actually think I was only trying to date you again because…"

Laurel hesitated to complete that sentence, but Oliver did it for her as he sat back down. "Because I reminded you of Tommy, and made you feel close to him again!"

Laurel covered her eyes with her hand. "It sounds pretty fucked up when you say it out loud, doesn't it?!"

Oliver chuckled. "Laurel, you're talking to a man who has wrecked most of the relationships he has been in, and who runs around at nights with a bow and arrow taking on bad men with guns while wearing a hood! I wrote the book on fucked up! And I'm really not in a position to judge. Besides, I miss Tommy too. He was my best friend, after all. And believe me when I say that if I could bring him back to us, if there was any way at all of bringing the man you love back from the dead, I would. But we both know I can't. That being said…I am still here for you if you ever need a friend to talk to. And thank you for the apology."

Laurel, now looking thoroughly embarrassed, and nodded as she started to exit the room after giving Oliver a small half-hug. "Thank you. And don't mention it. Seriously, considering the awkward turn this conversation took, I would appreciate if you could just forget we had this talk."

Oliver smirked. "What talk? Seriously though, take care of yourself, Laurel. And remember that I'm still here if you need someone to talk too."

Laurel nodded again, but turned back towards Oliver before she exited the room. "Thanks again. And Oliver? Seeing you with her and Connor, how Isabel acted towards you two…I think I understand why you fell for her. Try to not to lose this one, Oliver. For Connor's sake, as well as yours. After all…:" Laurel smirked before delivering a sentence that would leave her ex both shocked and confused at Laurel's knowledge. "Woman like the Midnight Sentinel are hard to find."

* * *

Dr. Silverson sighed after he heard the properly abridged and edited details of the events of Connors birthday party. "Okay. Let me get this straight. You have been having relationship difficulties because you are having trouble spending time alone together since, you, Oliver, have a son. And there has been some tension between you two and two of Oliver's exes, which seems to be slowly going away, but is still present to some extent. And Oliver's former stepfather doesn't approve of your relationship because Isabel here tried to take over Queen Consolidated several months ago. Do I finally have a full picture of the difficulties you two are facing in your relationship?"

Isabel and Oliver looked at each other for a few seconds before Isabel nodded, then turned to her and Oliver's relationship counselor before she sighed. "Well, there is one other person close to Oliver that has been opposed to our relationship from the very beginning, but that is a very long, unpleasant story. How much time to you got?"

Dr. Silverson smiled as he felt a mixture of amusement and exasperation. He had dealt with couples with fewer outside obstructions to their relationships…but not many. The case of Oliver Queen and Isabel Rochev was shaping up to be an interesting one indeed. Furthermore, the professional realized something as he looked at his watch. "Actually, not enough. We're out of time for today already."

Dr. Silverson noticed Oliver and Isabel both sigh in relief at that announcement, and wondered why their bodies tensed up so much when he added. "But I'm sure we will have plenty of time to discuss that other person, and your history with him or her, during our next session, Isabel. See you next week!"

 **AN: First off all, as always, I would like to thank all of my readers for their continuing support of, and insight on, this story! I would also like to add that I decided to post two chapters at once here because I felt all of the content in this update fit together, and should be posted all at once, but I did not want to post just one chapter that seemed to go on forever. I hope you don't mind. Also, I hoped you enjoyed these two chapters, and that they answered some of the questions you, my readers, had, while still leaving room for enough questions to make things interesting. Please let me know.**

 **Oh, and for those of you who may be worried about the category of this fic, I'm not planning on making this a full-blown crossover story, any more than my last story was a crossover fic. Characters from other works of fiction related to the DC universe will show up from time to time, and sometimes even play a major part in the story, but they will always be a secondary focus to the characters from Arrow and the plot as it relates to them. Just in case you were wondering.**

 **And of course, I would be remiss not to thank my beta-reader for her help and support as I have been writing this story. Without your help, this story would look uglier than the remains of an animal after it was trampled on by a herd of wildebeest! Your help is very much appreciated!**

 **Until next time, I am…**

 **-supercode**


	5. The Mother

The Fourth Counseling Session…

Dr. Silverson sighed. "So. We've spent the last 15 minutes rehashing everything you told me during the last session and exploring some of the ways the two of you could respond next time one of Oliver's exes or Walter Steele tries to interfere in your relationship. But you both told me that those situations are getting better on their own anyway. So I'm guessing that talking about those individuals isn't the reason you have decided to continue attending therapy. I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a guess. Did either of you want to talk about the other person that Isabel mentioned in Oliver's life that disapproves of your relationship?"

There was several seconds of awkward silence as Oliver and Isabel looked at each other silently before silently coming to a conclusion. Isabel sighed. "Sure. I suppose the metaphorical elephant in the room needs to be addressed sooner or later. Moira Queen, Oliver's mother, hates me."

Oliver shook his head. "That's not true. My mother doesn't hate you, Isabel!" The blonde man turned towards the counselor for emphases. "My mother does not hate Isabel!"

Dr. Silverson just shrugged, but Isabel interrupted the two men in the room before either of them could open their mouths again as the brunette rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine! Hate may be too strong a word. But she definitely doesn't like me very much. And even though she's being more subtle about it now, up till lately, she made it pretty obvious with her overly formal way of speaking with me and the glares she sent my way when she thought no one was looking. Plus, I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me spending so much time with Connor, from the ways she looks at your son when he's around me, and from that other thing she said…."

Oliver sighed. "Okay. My mother may have expressed some concern over Connor getting too attached to you. But I think that it's great that you, me, and Connor get along so well, so I'm not about to try putting distance between you and Connor or myself. I did want to be able to spend more time alone with you without sacrificing time with my son, which is one reason why we are living together now. But that is a whole different issue."

The blonde man shrugged ignoring Dr. Silverson's look of interest when Oliver said he and Isabel were living together now. "And as for my mother? I just think we need to give her some time to see what a great person you are now! But after everything you've done for this family lately…" Oliver glanced at Dr. Silverson out of the corner of his eye and purposely added. "Making sure we didn't lose our company to your old employer and helping Queen Consolidated acquire Stellmoor International. I'm sure my mother will come around! And like I said, she doesn't hate you!"

Dr. Silverson nodded silently and took mental notes while this exchange was taking place. From the clients' body language and what wasn't said between them, it was obvious that both Oliver and Isabel were conspiring to keep secrets from him for some reason. The counselor privately wondered if those secrets would end up being significant for the couple's progress in therapy. He decided he would continue to watch Oliver and Isabel closely to see what further clues he could gleam on whatever Oliver and Isabel were keeping from him. In case that secret became important later in therapy, of course.

The older man's train of thought was cut off by Isabel's words as the hazel-eyed woman shook her head. "Maybe not. But she has every reason to. And I really wouldn't blame her if she did. Some of the plans I made to hurt your family…" Isabel hastily added. "By acquiring Queen Consolidated, were pretty horrible. And after the other thing I did to your mother, all those years ago…"

A single tear fell from Isabel's right eye, and the brunette quickly got at tissue to wipe it away. "Sorry. Allergies make my eyes water sometimes."

Dr. Silverson smiled in understanding while pretending to believe Isabel's obvious lie. "That happens a lot in this office. But I am curious. Did you want to tell me about that other thing you did to Moira Queen? It sounds like something you might want to get off your chest, since you have been dancing around that subject since last session. And I think it could help the counseling process if I had a better understanding of the…difficulties between you and Oliver's mother."

At this point, Oliver put a protective arm over his girlfriend's shoulder. "You don't have to tell Dr. Silverson about that, Isabel. That was a long time ago, and things are different now. You are different! So I'm not sure what good it would do to drag that old skeleton out of the closet now."

Dr. Silverson raised his hand patiently. "Oliver is right, Isabel. You don't have to tell me anything. I can't make you talk about your difficulties with the Mayor in detail. But since you and Oliver both came to me of your own free will to help the two of you with your relationship, I believe you want to get as much out of this counseling experience as possible. And I really do believe that you giving me more information concerning why Mayor Queen has a problem with you dating her son would help me to help the two of you."

Isabel nodded her head while her stoic mask otherwise stayed in place. However, before Isabel could open her mouth, Oliver inserted a few words of his own into the conversation. "Okay. If you want to tell Dr. Silverson what happened, then tell him."

Oliver shot the counselor a dark look that Silverson found…unsettling as the blonde billionaire added. "I just want to make sure he knows something first. You do understand, based upon the confidentiality agreement our lawyers typed up, what will happen if your breathe a word about what you hear in these counseling sessions to anybody outside of this room?!"

The counselor resisted the urged to smile. The fact that Oliver obviously wanted to keep whatever Isabel was about to tell him from the general public indicated that info was probably fairly significant. Also, the fact that the couple in front of him were even considering letting him in on one of their secrets spoke volumes about how much they were starting to trust him! For the first time since he had started seeing this couple, the counselor felt like he was actually getting somewhere!

The older man cleared his throat. "Yes, I believe the long and short of it is that if I say anything about our sessions, including the fact that you are even seeing a counselor, with anybody currently outside of this room, me, as well as my family and entire practice, will be sued into oblivion. Rest assured, I understand the importance of confidentiality, Mr. Queen, especially in the case of you and Isabel. And I promise that nothing that either you or Isabel say will leave this room, as long as you don't give me any indication you are planning to harm yourselves or others."

Oliver, apparently satisfied by this answer, slowly withdrew his arm from Isabel. The brunette took a deep breath and spoke. "Okay. The first thing you should know, Dr. Silverson, is that everything I'm about to tell you happened years before Oliver and I even met. I also think I should add here that I really am in love with Oliver, because he's really…unique, and different than any man I've ever met in a lot of very good ways."

Isabel briefly squeezed Oliver's hand, and the blonde man reciprocated in kind with a nervous smile before his girlfriend withdrew her hand, looked directly at the counselor and added. "But…before all that. Years before I tried to take over Queen Consolidated. Years before I met Oliver and fell in love with him. I was a very young, naïve woman who felt completely starved for attention after years of neglect by various foster families. I let my emotions get the better of me. And….long story short, I had an affair with Robert Queen."

Dr. Silverson raised his left eyebrow, but just barely. "I assume you are referring to Moira Queen's late husband and Oliver's father? That Robert Queen?"

Isabel seemed hesitant to reply at first, but after Oliver quickly squeezed her right hand with one of his own to encourage her and remind her he was not going to judge her for her past sins, the brunette found the courage to confirm the counselor's words. "Yes. That Robert Queen."

The older man just nodded. "Okay."

Oliver and Isabel stared at the man in shock for a second before Oliver spoke. "Is that all you are going to say about that? Just, 'Okay?'"

The counselor shrugged. "What did you expect me to do? Yell and scream at you for dating Isabel due to her history with your father? Insult the two of you? Because nothing like that is going to happen here, Oliver. You and Isabel are adults, and what the two of you do in your private lives is your own business. You aren't hurting anyone with your relationship, as far as I can tell, and it's not like you are committing incest. And it is not is my job to judge people who walk into my office looking for help."

Dr. Silverson smiled after both of his patients sighed with relief. The counselor then added, "Now, Isabel, I would have had more of an issue with this revelation if you had told me this info privately and I thought you were keeping what happened between you and Robert a secret from Oliver. Because relationships can survive many things, but a lack of trust is generally not one of them. However, since you obviously know what happened between Isabel and your father in the past, Oliver, and you have decided to stay in a relationship with Isabel, I'm assuming the two of you are already committed to working through any difficulties that Isabel's previous relationship may cause your current relationship with her?"

Oliver nodded and held Isabel's hand for several seconds. "Yes. The two of us have committed to making this work, despite some of the more…unusual hurdles our relationship may have to overcome."

The counselor nodded after Isabel nodded her own head in agreement with Oliver's words. "Great. So I would expect that the amount of effort you put into these therapeutic sessions, and the homework I give you, will reflect that level of commitment. But we are getting off of the subject. Isabel, you were talking about the reason that Moira Queen doesn't like you. So I'm assuming that she knew about your previous affair with her late husband?"

Isabel nodded. "Yes. I don't know exactly when she found out, but it was certainly before Robert died." The brunette took a deep breath then, and some moisture started gathering in Isabel's eyes, but this time she was able to blink until it was gone before proceeding "And even now, I think she still resents me for that affair, And I can't say I blame her for that. What I did was wrong. I knew that even then. But back then, like I said…." Isabel shrugged helplessly. "I was young and naive. And I'm still paying the price for that, I guess."

"You aren't like that anymore though." Oliver stated, and he was now looking at Isabel. "You're smarter than that now. Better. I just wish that everybody else could see that you have changed for the better!"

Dr. Silverson shrugged. "Be that as it may…Isabel, you and Robert did cross a boundary when you helped the man step outside of his established relationship to Moira."

The counselor held up his hands before the couple in front of him could respond to that statement. "And like I said, I'm not here to judge. But obviously, that affair hurt Moira's feelings, or at least her pride, on some level. And those hurt feelings seemed to have stayed with her over the years, and turned into the resentment that you have told me that woman has for you. So your actions had consequences. This info changes a lot about my perception some of the problems you and Isabel have been having, Oliver. In fact, I'm quite surprised that the relationship between you, Isabel, and your mother isn't even more strained then it is since you started dating Isabel while…well, knowing what you know about her history."

Oliver sighed. "Like I said, Isabel has done a lot to help the Queen family recently, and I know my mother has been keeping that in mind as well. For instance, Isabel decided to help keep QC in the Queen family instead of taking it over entirely, as she originally intended, she's helped me run the business far better than I could on my own, and she's even helped me take care of Connor, even when I made it clear she didn't have to do so..."

Isabel smiled. "Like I said, it's not a problem. Connor is a very sweet, well-behaved little boy, so I actually enjoy spending time with him. It's really no trouble at all!"

Dr. Silverson nodded. He still felt like he wasn't getting the whole story about why Moira Queen didn't hate Isabel more than she did, or why the older woman wasn't actively objecting to her son's relationship to the brunette, but he held his peace on that matter for now as he spoke. "Okay then. Paint me a better picture then. Why don't the two of you give me an example of how the two of you are interacting with your mother now, Oliver, so I can get a better idea of how the three of you are…or aren't…getting along?

Oliver sighed. "Those interactions are…a work in progress. Often, my mother and Isabel go three steps forward, two steps back on acting civil towards each other. Just when I think things are getting better between them, somebody, usually my mother, will do or say something wrong. For example….

* * *

….one week ago…

Connor, Isabel, and Oliver were all smiling when they entered the Queen mansion. It had been more than two weeks since Connor's birthday, but Connor was still riding the wave of excitement that event had caused him. The boy had still yet to play with all the toys that he had received that day, despite having played with the football he had been given with his dad (and Roy, when he and Thea visited the mansion, which they now did more frequently than before Connor's big day), the toy bow and arrow set Oliver had given him, and various other birthday gifts since the day of the party.

The only thing that had been ruining Connor's usually cheerful disposition lately was the thought (which he had expressed several times to Oliver and Isabel) that he may not get to see his friends from the orphanage again for a whole year, if not longer. True, Moira had set up a couple of play-dates for Connor with the children of some of her wealthy friends since the night of the boy's party, and he got along well with those children,, but the six year old clearly still missed his friends from the orphanage, especially Anna, the orphan that Connor talked about the most. Thankfully, Connor's moments of melancholy where usually short lived, since the boy had a naturally cheerful disposition, and one of his family members could usually find a way to cheer him up whenever Connor started missing his old friends.

Tonight had been no exception, as Oliver and Isabel had elected to get out the new kid's telescope that Connor had received as a birthday gift from his grandmother, and take Connor star gazing. The trio had just spent a long Saturday together, during which Oliver and Isabel had taken Connor to a carnival, a waterpark, and a Chaz E Cheese's restaurant (a location the group had chosen to vacate early since both Connor and his father found the animatronic rat mascot of that location somewhat creepy). Oliver and Isabel had been able to do this because crime had gone down in Starling City since Team Arrow had been acting on all of the criminal Intel they had gathered while crossing off the last few members of The List, and the Arrow and Midnight Sentinel hadn't been called into action all day. Still, as much fun as Connor had that day, he had still complained that he wished Anna had been there today with him, his dad, and Isabel.

Oliver had decided that taking his son out stargazing just before his bedtime might take Connor's mind off missing his orphan friends, and at the same time, get Moira off his back about getting her grandson to try out the gift she had gotten him. And this tactic had worked, largely thanks to Isabel (who had been waiting till Connor went to bed to spend some private time with her boyfriend), who had pointed out a number of constellations in the night sky to Connor that Oliver had never heard off. The well-educated woman had then told Connor something else. "You see all these stars? They look pretty much the same from Central City, and I bet right about now, Anna is watching those same stars, thinking of you. So you see, the two of you aren't as far apart as you think."

Connor had looked confused by Isabel's statement, and mumbled something about not understanding how Anna wasn't far from him when he couldn't see her, but the boy still seemed to feel better after going stargazing with Oliver and Isabel anyway. Connor had been all smiles when the three of them had walked into the Queen mansion, where Moira Queen was waiting to walk her grandson to his room and tell him a bed-time story before Oliver tucked him in. And right then, right as Isabel stopped to give Connor a hug and tell him goodnight…that was when it happened. A single, innocent event that would nearly undo two weeks of rapport build between Moira Queen and Isabel Rochev, both of which had been acting and speaking more civilly towards each other since Connor's party.

As Isabel hugged Connor, as she often did these days whenever she said goodbye to Oliver's son, the blonde boy spoke: "I love you, Isabel."

Everyone else in the room, including Moira Queen, who had just come towards the front of the mansion to greet her grandson before she walked him to his bedroom and read him a bedtime story, froze. For several tense seconds, Oliver and Connor were worried about how Isabel would respond to the young boy's words. For those few seconds, Isabel had responded by allowing a serious, stoic expression to place itself on her face, and she still had that expression on when she spoke. "Thank you, Connor."

However, Isabel's face quickly morphed into a smile as she added while giving Connor another hug. "And I love you too."

Moira Queen didn't cognitively process the words that came out of her mouth before she spoke them. If her mouth had given her the chance to do so, she would have responded to the scene that had just played out in front of her much differently. Instead, the Queen matriarch found herself responding instinctively to the exchange of words between Connor and Isabel. "I think I'm going to throw up."

When two adult pairs of eyes widened in alarm, and the gray eyes of a certain blonde haired child held a look of both anxiety and confusion, Moira put a hand to her mouth in alarm as she realized she had actually spoken that thought out loud. The Queen matriarch was mortified she had spoken those words while she had been ruminating on the bitter thought that Isabel had "three generations of Queen men eating out of her hand." After all, whatever reservations she had about Oliver's relationship with Isabel, she had never wanted to get Connor involved in any of the drama between herself and Isabel.

The Queen matriarch quickly tried to cover up her verbal slip up. "I mean, I'm not feeling well, and I think I may be coming down with something. I better go check on that."

Moira Queen then left the room and started heading towards her bedroom, prompting Oliver to look first at Connor, then Isabel, and sigh. "I'm just going to go see what's wrong with your grandmother, Connor."

Oliver held his gaze on Isabel for several seconds. "Can you watch Connor for a few minutes while I check on my mother?"

Oliver turned towards Connor after Isabel nodded in the affirmative. The man then said to his son. "Wait here. Isabel will take care of you for a little bit, then I will be right back."

Without another word, Oliver left the room to go confront his mother.

* * *

Several tense seconds passed in the lounge area of the Queen mansion that Isabel and Connor had chosen to wait for Oliver in, before the brunette finally spoke. "So, Connor, do you want to play a game while we are waiting for your father and grandmother to get back? Maybe charades or…"

Connor yawned. "Naw. I'm too tired to play right now, Isabel."

Isabel nodded. "Okay then."

The young boy then looked at Isabel with a quizzical expression on his face. "Why doesn't grandma Moira like you very much? You seem nice to me. Is it because you are a meta-meta-superpowered person?" Conner stuttered.

Isabel's eyes widened on her stoic face as she replied. "Meta-human? How do you know that word and what makes you think I'm a meta-human, Connor, or that your grandmother doesn't like me?"

Connor smiled. "Some of the older kids at the orphanage would read to me and some other kids from about some blog on the web about the Flash sometimes. One of the articles said that the Flash and some of the bad guys in my old city were meta-humans. And one of my friends said that means he had powers…just like you do Isabel! I saw you heal real fast on my birthday after you cut your hand with a knife. And then the Band-Aid fell off, and your hand was fine! I cut myself with paper once, and It didn't heal that fast, so I know you got better too fast for that to be normal?"

Isabel's eyes widened further as she mentally chided herself for allowing Connor to witness her healing factor in action, and wondered what she could say to Connor that wouldn't be a lie the smart child could catch her in later. But in addition to her secret, the brunette was also worried about what Connor thought of her now that he had seen one of her abilities first hand. "If I was a meta-human…would that be a problem for you?"

Connor rolled his eyes in a way that Isabel noted must have come from her, since Oliver didn't make that gesture often. "No way! I already know you have powers, Isabel! I know what I saw…and it. Was. So. Cool! Are you a superhero like the Flash, because I know you aren't one of the bad guys?! Can you do anything else that's cool!? Who else knows that you are different!? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me?!"

Isabel chuckled. She could already tell that Connor had already made up his mind that she was a meta-human. She also knew that, short of trying to get Connor to believe he had imagined what he's seen (which Isabel had a sneaking suspicion she wouldn't be able to do, since the boy sometimes had a stubborn streak just as big as his father's), there was no way she would be able to convince Oliver's son otherwise. So instead, she answered Connor's second question, hoping that she could distract Connor away from his question about her being a superherione. The brunette smirked. "I can see there is no fooling you, Connor! Yes, I am a meta-human who has the ability to heal a little quicker than most people, and I can see, hear, and smell things other people can't as well. Your father already knows about all of this, but I haven't told anyone else in your family yet. And I need you to keep my powers a secret too. Because some people wouldn't understand. Some people would be afraid of me if they knew I was different…"

Isabel then quickly added with a smile. "But not you, Connor!"

Connor smiled proudly. "Nope! Not me! I think it's cool that you have powers!"

Connor's brow furrowed. "I'll keep your secret, Isabel! My friend Anna taught me how to keep a secret a while ago after she made me promise not to tell anyone she gave me a k…" Connor's hand flew over his mouth, causing Isabel to chuckle before the little boy lamely added. "I mean she told me not to say something! But…are you sure I can't tell aunt Thea or Grandma Moira? I don't think they would mind you being special!

Isabel frowned. She knew it would be hard for the boy to keep secrets from his family, but she and Oliver had already agreed not to tell Thea and Moira about her remaining powers after the Mirakuru had been neutralized in her system, for fear Oliver's family members would think she would start going crazy again, which hadn't been happening so far. Isabel hoped Connor would be able to keep the secret of her abilities better then he kept his secret that his "friend" had kissed him more than once. "I'm sure. Moira and Thea will be safer if they don't know. Trust me. But I think you're a big boy and you will be okay."

Connor sighed. "Okay. If you really think my aunt and grandma will be safer, I won't tell them."

The young boy shrugged. "But that doesn't explain why my grandma doesn't like you, though. I don't know why, but she glares at you sometimes. And you and her talk funny towards each other. Not always. Just sometimes."

Isabel nodded with a calm expression on her face, but inside she was panicking about what she should say next, especially since the young boy in front of her was already burdened with more knowledge about her then she had wanted him to have... On one hand, she knew Connor was a smart little boy who would eventually figure out she was lying if she said there was nothing wrong between herself and Moira Queen, and she didn't want to break Connor's trust in her by lying to him anyway. On the other hand, Oliver, Moira and herself had all agreed long ago that Connor was never to know about her past dealings with Robert, for obvious reasons.

Eventually, Isabel decided to answer in an honest, but vague fashion in hopes that the little boy she had come to love over the past several weeks would let the subject go. "I did something wrong to your grandma a long time ago, Connor. But I'm trying to make up for it, and I'm sure your grandma will forgive me for what I did soon." In truth, Isabel wasn't sure of any such thing, but the brunette decided Connor didn't need to know that.

"Now, why don't we talk about the big day your dad and I have planned for you tomorrow?" Isabel awkwardly added.

Connor didn't let Isabel off the hook that easily, however. "No thanks. My dad already told me about the park with all the rides you were going to take me to. What did you do to grandma, Isabel? Did you say you were sorry?"

Isabel sighed. "Of course I said I was sorry. But what happened was…complicated. You don't need to worry about it." When Isabel saw the look on Connor's face, complete with a raised eyebrow, however, she knew Connor wouldn't let the topic go that easily.

Sure enough, Connor replied with an incredulous expression on his face. "That's not really an answer Isabel. What did you do to grandma? Did you steal one of her toys or something?"

"Yes. Something like that." Isabel flinched so slightly that Connor didn't notice it as she squirmed internally, upset at herself for lying to Connor, but acknowledging to herself that she needed to tell the young boy something, and that agreeing with Connor's child-like assessment of the situation was as close to the truth as she was willing to let Connor get concerning this subject. Thankfully, Connor accepted Isabel's words at face value. He knew that adults had toys they played with too, like tablets, computers and phones, although adults refused to call these thing toys for some reason (adults were weird like that).

Connor squinted his eyes and yawned again. "I don't get why my grandma didn't forgive you if you said you were sorry. My teacher said you are supposed to do that when someone apologizes. Did you not give the toy back?"

Isabel just managed to blink fast enough to stop the moisture that was starting to accumulate in her eyes from becoming tears. "No. Someone else… A very bad man, broke the toy beyond repair."

Connor nodded and yawned again, and spoke one final thought before he fell asleep in his chair. "That wasn't you fault, Isabel. I'm sure grandma well forgive you soon…" This last statement was cut off by the sound of snoring as Connor's small body gave into exhaustion, and the young boy's eyes involuntarily closed as he slumped over in his chair unconscious.

Isabel picked up Connor up from his chair as silently as she could, trying not to wake him up as she carried the youngest member of the Queen family to his bed, since Oliver and Moira were still talking in the Queen matriarch's room. As the brunette woman laid Connor's body on the silk sheets of his mattress and tucked the little boy into his bed, Isabel sighed once more. "I hope you're right about that Connor. Good night."

* * *

Meanwhile…

Oliver's stoic expression hid it well, but he had seldom been more nervous than the moment he had stepped in his mother's bedroom to talk to her only moments after the Queen matriarch had stepped into her domicile, before Moira had even had the chance to shut the door. "Mom, we need to talk about what just happened."

Moira shook her head. "Yes, I suppose we do. I'm sorry about what I said, and I will…." Moira forced the next few words out of her mouth with a gulp. "Apologize to Isabel later as well. I promise you that nothing like that will happen again,"

Oliver shook his head and sighed. "Mom, I'm not sure that will fix the problem. You were the one that said you wouldn't try to interfere in my relationship with Isabel, but I can see now that you haven't made as much progress in getting along with her as I had hoped. And that's fine. I understand why you don't like her. I know what she did. I get it. But Connor doesn't. My son doesn't understand, and he even told me lately that he knows that you don't like Isabel. I can now see that, due to your…history with Isabel, you are going to need more time than Connor, any of my friends, or even Thea, who has been getting along better with Isabel lately and even started taking self-defense lessons with her, to learn to get along with my girlfriend. And I'm going to give you that time…."

Oliver ran his hands through his hair nervously. "But I'm not going to have Connor exposed to any of this relationship drama between you and Isabel while that happens. And I really care about Isabel a lot, and I don't want her to have to spend Christmas and New Year's alone, so I've made a decision. Connor and I will be moving out of the Queen mansion within a week or two. In the meantime, Isabel and I will look for a place for Connor, myself, and her to live together. That way, I can spend more time with Isabel, which I want to do anyway, and you and Isabel can work your issues out at your own pace without Connor being exposed to the negative energy between you two on a regular basis."

Moira shook her head and pointed at her son "That is not fair, Oliver! I know Connor is your son, but he is also my grandson, and he just came into my life! Please don't take him away from me before I even get to spend the holidays with him!"

A few tears leaked out of Moira Queen's eyes before she brushed them away and added. "I have so much to make up for with Connor. All the birthdays, Christmases, weekends, that my grandson could have spent with his family if I hadn't covered up his existence from you and Malcolm Merlyn! Please, don't take Connor away from me before I get a chance to start making some of that up to him! I know that, despite everything Miss Rochev has done, and the fact that I'm still upset about what happened, I shouldn't have said what I did a few minutes ago. I promise that I will try harder to get along with Isabel, even though I'm having a hard time liking her, despite all the good she had done for this family lately. But please don't take my grandson away from me!"

Oliver frowned and shook his head. "I'm not trying to take Connor away from you, mom! We'll still visit here often, so Connor can still see his grandma…without Isabel being around too. But you've said you would try to get along with Isabel before, and look how that turned out! I just don't see another way to solve this problem than Connor and I moving out of the mansion, not until you've shown me that you and Isabel can actually get along somehow. I'm sorry. I wish there was another way. I just don't think there is."

Moira shook her head and sighed. She knew that her son had his reasons for wanting to live with Isabel now, and Moira suspected the couple had one other reason for wanting to cohabitate that they weren't telling anyone. That being the case, she knew she would need a strong argument to change Oliver's mind.

The Queen matriarch spoke, interrupting her son's current trek towards the door that led to the hallway, away from her room. "There may be another way, Oliver. A way that you could spend more time with your girlfriend without you and Connor moving out. And a way for me to prove to you that I'm serious about trying to get along with Miss Rochev. But before I say what that is out loud, there is something I would like to know. I think it would help me to understand….if you could tell me…Why did you choose her? I mean, I'm glad that Isabel makes both you and Connor happy, and I see that in your faces every day, which is why I haven't actively tried to interfere with your relationship with that woman, but it's still so hard for me to understand. Why, out of all the women in all the world, did you end up falling for her?! What is so special about Isabel Rochev, that you still love her despite her history with this family!?"

Oliver shook his head. "It's hard to explain, mom. Because you weren't there, when I was stranded on the island, or when I went to various other places, during those five years I was away. And no, I don't want to talk about what happened back then right now. But I had lost everything. Everything and everyone that I loved was ripped away from me for five years. And I had to do…terrible things in order to survive. Things that left a black mark on my soul that will never wash out. But the feelings that the blackness, and the loneliness, bring up inside me sometimes…they aren't something I can explain just with words."

Oliver paused for several seconds before he added. "Up till recently, I didn't think I would ever meet anyone who could understand what I was feeling. Who could truly know who I was now, darkness and all, and understand me. And I definitely didn't think anybody would be able to understand me, just as I am, and love me, all the same. But Isabel proved me wrong on both counts. Because, like me, she knows what it is to lose everyone she loved at one point in her life. Like me, she had made some seriously bad choices in her life, and she has had to fight to survive. And now she knows what it feels like to try to come back from that dark place and try to be a decent person again. Because of our experiences, both good and bad, Isabel and I understand each other better than most people ever could. And we love each other all the same. I don't know if that answers your question, but…"

Moira nodded, tears now rolling freely down her face as she hugged her son tight. "It will do. I'm not going to say I understand all of that, and I don't think I will fully be able to understand what you went through when you were…away. You hide the scars from those 5 years so well, sometimes I'm almost able to forget that you aren't the same joy-filled boy that boarded the Queen's Gambit. But sometimes when I looked into your eyes, before you and Isabel got together, I could see that you were different somehow. Sadder. Angrier. Lonelier. And I am so sorry for that. So sorry that I let you board that ship. That I let my boy get hurt like that."

Oliver shook his head and tried to pull away, but his mother's vice-like grip wouldn't let him as he spoke. "That wasn't your fault, mom. I made the mistake to get on that ship. Everything that happened to me during that time was my own fault. You can't hold yourself responsible for that!"

Moira shook her head. "I wish I could believe that Oliver." Before her son could protest, the Queen matriarch added. "But that's not the main issue here. And as much as I may not like it, I can see that some of that darkness that was inside you has gone away since Isabel came into your life. And I can see that Miss Rochev has brought joy into my son and grandson's lives. And I don't want to jeopardize that by being a miserable old bat that refuses to stop dwelling on the past. So…"

Moira finally pulled away from her son and sighed. "I'm willing to make you a proposal. A sign that I'm going to try harder to put the past in the past and get along better with Isabel from now on. Put your search for a new home on hold, at least until after New Year's Day. Because I would really like to spend the holidays with my son and grandson. In exchange…"Moira took a deep breath and forced herself to continue. "Isabel can stay here in the Queen mansion, until you and her find a more permanent place of residence after the holidays. I promise to behave myself around Isabel at least that long, and this way, we all get what we want. I think that is more than fair."

Oliver nodded. "And you're sure you would be okay with that? Isabel living under the same roof as you?"

Moira nodded. "If it means that I get to spend more time with my son and grandson, and it will make you and Connor happy…then yes. I will be able to live with that arrangement for a while."

Oliver's face took on a stoic expression again. "I guess I could run that idea past Isabel. See what she thinks of it. But Isabel is my girlfriend, mom. So if you had it in your head that we would be sleeping in separate bedrooms…"

Moira sighed again. "No. I figured you two would insist on sharing a room. But as long as the two of your are…discreet, for Connor's sake, as well as my own, well…like I said, that is something I'd be willing to live with, considering the alternatives."

Oliver nodded. "Okay. Like I said, I will need to consult with Isabel, but…that sounds like a workable solution for everyone. Now, it's been a long day, and I think it's time for me to go check on Connor and see how he is doing."

When Oliver walked into his son's room, Connor was already fast asleep, and Isabel was tucking the blond haired boy in. As he watched his girlfriend smile while tucking his son in for the night, before the Arrow and his girlfriend would discuss his mother's proposal for their living arrangement, Oliver knew that he had made a good choice when he had chosen to date Isabel. Also, the maternal gesture further solidified Oliver's belief that he was making the right choice when he had decided that he and Connor should be living with Isabel…although there had been another major reason for that choice that only he and Isabel knew about…for now.

* * *

Dr. Silverson nodded after his patients finished describing the incident that had occurred between Oliver, Isabel, Moira, and Connor. He wasn't quite sure whether or not Isabel moving into the Queen Mansion was going to make his client's situation more unstable, or if it was an opportunity for the brunette and the mayor to learn to get along, but he decided to hold his tongue on that matter. However, there was another topic that needed to be addressed.

"So…" The older man spoke with a smile. "Now that you two, Moira, and Connor are all living under one roof, and Christmas is right around the corner, I think that it is time for the three of us to discuss how all of you are going to get along over the holidays."

 **AN: So, first of all, I would like to apologize to all of you for taking so long to get this chapter posted, but a lot of RL situations have been getting in the way of my writing as of late. But I really hope that you enjoy this chapter anyway. Whether you like it or not, your feedback through reviews would be greatly appreciated.**

 **Speaking of reviews, I would like to personally thank Troll99, highlander348, and Phillipe363, as well as my guest reviewer,** **pootamis, for your feedback on my last 2 chapters! I have tried to reply to all of your reviews individually up to this point, but pootamis made me realize that this is not always possible. Also, I know I have no excuse for not recognizing all of you in my author's notes for your reviews anyway. I would also like to thank all of my other readers and reviewers in this space as well. Your support is very much appreciated!**

 **And last, but certainly not least, I want to acknowledge my beta reader, without the help of whom this story would resemble the last night of a carnival after closing time before the staff cleaned the place up. Your help editing my story is both essential and appreciated!**

 **Until next time, I am…**

 **-supercode**


	6. The Ring

The Fifth Session….

Dr. Silverson observed the couple in front of him as they took their seats. In truth, he had been worried about Oliver and Isabel lately, since it had taken the couple two weeks to schedule a new appointment. Now that they were here, almost 3 weeks since the couple's fourth session in his office, he didn't know whether to be relieved or more worried for the young couple.

On the one hand, both Oliver and Isabel looked absolutely exhausted, although Isabel looked less so than Oliver. In any case, both the blonde man and the brunette woman had bags under their eyes, as if they hadn't been sleeping that well. Oliver also had a small cut just under his right eye that the blonde man had claimed he had gotten in an accident on his motorcycle. A claim Oliver had made before the counselor had even asked the younger man about his injuries. All of these things worried Dr. Silverson.

However, there were also certain bits of physical evidence on Isabel's person that things might actually be going well for the young couple, and the physical interactions between Oliver and Isabel were even more telling. For instance, Oliver and Isabel were seated closer together then they had been during their previous sessions, with their bodies almost touching the whole time. And while the blonde man and the brunette woman had been known to hold hands occasionally during precious counseling sessions, they were now doing so throughout most of the session. Furthermore, at one point, Oliver hand even draped his arm over Isabel's shoulders, and the hazel eyed woman had responded by leaning onto Oliver's chest. And the counselor noted that even after he asked Oliver and Isabel to keep a little more space between them so that they could focus on the session, the couple went right back to holding hands, and the blonde and brunette were still sitting mere inches from each other.

Finally, after several minutes of small talk, during which Oliver and Isabel had claimed their lives were just "too busy" to attend a counseling session lately, Dr. Silverson decided to get down to the actual business of the session. "So, the two of you say you have been busy lately, and from how exhausted you both look, I believe you. What's been going on in your lives lately?"

Isabel smirked. "Well, one reason that Oliver and I may look tired is that he and I have been spending a lot more time in the bedroom lately then usual!"

Oliver coughed. "Isabel!"

The brunette shrugged and smiled cheekily. "What? It's true, Oliver!"

The hazel eyed woman turned towards the counselor and shrugged. "The point being, neither one of us have been getting as much sleep as we used to. Something I know Oliver and I both need to work on, but…" Isabel just shrugged again, leaving her words to hang in the air with a suggestive wink to Oliver that the blonde man couldn't help but smiling at, despite the embarrassed façade he had put on a few seconds ago.

The counselor laughed. "Well, there are worse reasons to lose a few hours of sleep, I suppose! But tell me, other than sex, what have you two been up to lately? You say you have been too busy to go to counseling. So why have your lives been so hectic? I mean, I think I can already tell one or two things that may have happened just by looking at you two but…"

Oliver sighed. "Yeah, a lot of things have been changing lately, and not just for Isabel and I, but also for Connor and the rest of my family. But I suppose the first thing you would want to hear about is an event that happened only a day after our last session…."

* * *

Oliver Queen smiled at his girlfriend as he continued to move things out of one of his dresser drawers to make room for some of Isabel Rochev's clothing. Despite having slept at her apartment several times before, Oliver had been completely unaware of the large number of clothing items that Isabel Rochev actually owned. Isabel owned so many clothes, in fact, that she and Oliver had agreed it would be best for the two of them to move her clothes out of her apartment in installments, instead of all at once. Now, almost a week later, Isabel was just now moving the last of her clothes into Oliver's room in the Queen mansion, despite all of Oliver's protest that his girlfriend wouldn't need that many clothes before he found a place for the two of them to live with Connor on their own. In the end, Isabel's insistence that "a woman never knows when the right occasion for the right dress might come up" had overruled her boyfriend's objections, and Oliver had ended up moving some of his clothes into storage in order to move Isabel's own items into his room.

But looking at Isabel now, as the woman's elegant movements made even the art of sorting clothes look graceful, Oliver had no regrets whatsoever about his decision to have his girlfriend move in with him. And the occasional smile on the brunette woman's face, complete with a light behind Isabel's eyes that became brighter every time she looked in his direction only solidified Oliver's opinion that this had been a good idea, not that he needed any further confirmation of that now. After all, he and Isabel had grown a lot closer, and been able to spend a lot more time with each other, ever since she had moved in, or started moving in, to the Queen mansion. And Oliver's mother and sister had actually been of some help with that process, as they had both offered to take care of Connor for Oliver on days when they weren't too busy at City Hall or the Verdant to do so.

Oliver had a sneaking suspicion this change of behavior in Moira and Thea Queen had come about due to his own declaration that he and Isabel were going to be moving to a new home with Connor after the holidays, but everyone seemed to like the arrangement just the same. Oliver and Isabel got to have a few evenings and mornings a week to themselves, and Connor got to spend more time with his aunt and grandmother while visiting various parks, aquariums, and the inside of the Queen jet when Moira had let her grandson tag along with her on a brief political visit to Coast City. But Oliver would still get to spend a lot of time with his son, take him on many other "adventures" to kid friendly places (both with and without Isabel), and tuck Connor in at night.

Furthermore, with his mother and sister spending more time during the day with Connor, the young boy didn't have to spend as much time with his nanny, who Connor had once said "gave him the creeps." Truth be told, Oliver also felt there was something a little "off" about Connor's nanny, although he couldn't quite put his finger on the feeling, other than acknowledging to himself that the middle aged blonde haired woman seemed oddly familiar. In any case, both Oliver and Connor were glad that the Arrow's son didn't have to spend as much time with the woman who had been hired by Moira Queen to look after her grandson.

Oliver's musings were cut off by questions from the beautiful brunette behind him questions that would lead to a discussion that would distract Oliver from giving the contents of his drawer his full attention. "Where did you learn to speak Russian? All you told me before when I asked that question was that you had spent some time in Russia. But you didn't say when that happened, or why you were there. Was it during the five years you were missing? Because I have made it a point to stay fluent in my native country's tongue, and you, Oliver, are fluent in Russian. Oh, and while we're on the question of why you are multi-lingual, how do you know how to speak Chinese, like you did with that one investor the night of Connor's party?"

"That's a lot of questions, Isabel." Oliver sighed and nodded his head. He knew this discussion would come up sooner or later, and the archer knew it was only fair he answered Isabel's questions. After all, he already knew more about Isabel's past then the brunette knew about his history, so Oliver knew his girlfriend deserved to know more about his own past…even the darker parts of it. But that still didn't make it easy. Especially since Oliver had never told the full story of his five years in exile to another person before, even in general terms. Deciding he had to start somewhere, however, Oliver began with something simple. "Okay. Well, the first thing you should know is that I wasn't on the island for the full five years I was missing."

Isabel nodded. "Okay, I'll bite. Where else did you go? You weren't just on the island and in Russia, where you?"

Oliver shook his head. "No. But I think my story will make more sense if I tell it in order. I spent the first two years of my exile on the island, battling various mad-men, including Slade, who had a lot of hired guns working for them. I spent most of that time running or fighting for my life, hunting, getting tortured, watching friends die… some of them because I wasn't smart enough or strong enough to save them. You know, the usual fun itinerary items you would expect from an island named after Purgatory…"

Isabel shook her head. "I'm sorry…"

"Yeah, me too…" Oliver gave Isabel a kind but firm look, indicating that, although he didn't want to hurt her feelings, he was not prepared to talk more about what happened on the island today. Isabel seemed to understand that, because she simply nodded as her boyfriend continued to speak rapidly, seemingly in a hurry to get his story over with. "Then, through a bizarre series of coincidences, I was recovered, although a better description would probably be abducted, from a sinking sub off the coast of the island by a woman named Amanda Waller."

Here, Oliver did pause, as if thinking about what to say next, so Isabel interjected a few words. "Slade Wilson told me about her when he was still working as a mercenary assassin. She runs a government organization called ARGUS, and from what Slade said, she is a very unpleasant character."

Oliver nodded in agreement. "That's putting it mildly. Anyway, Waller kidnapped me and forced me to work for ARGUS in Hong Kong for a while, conducting various unpleasant tasks including assassination missions and torturing enemies of the U.S. government. While I was there, for about a year, I learned both Cantonese-Chinese and Japanese. Then a serious of events occurred which ended with me and some of the allies I made there stopping a bio-weapon from destroying Hong Kong. And in the chaos, I was able to escape Waller's clutches. But I had become something, someone…different by then. Someone much darker and more disturbed than the "Ollie" who had left Starling City on the Queen's Gambit, because of all the things I had to do to survive up to that point. So I knew I couldn't…I wasn't ready to go home yet."

Oliver sighed. "So, instead, I went to Russia, since there was an old friend there that I had met on the island that managed to get in contact with me via the phone I had at the time. To this day, I have no idea how that man got of the island, how he found me, or how he got that phone number. But that man, who goes by the name of Anatoly Knyazev, offered me a job…of sorts, in an organization called the Solntsevskaya Bratva, as a thank you for saving his life off the coast of the island…."

At this point, Isabel decided to interrupt Oliver. "Yes. I've heard of them. I wondered why you had a tattoo with one of their symbols on your body. Are you telling me you worked for the Russian Mafia?"

Oliver reluctantly nodded. "Yes. I don't really like to talk about that, even though all of the people I…dispatched were also killers. Just please don't ask me for details. Suffice to say that, I did some things I'm not proud of. That was…a very dark time in my life. That was when I became a monster."

Oliver hung his head in shame, but Isabel raised his head up with her hand. "You are not a monster, Oliver. But I understand why you might have felt that way. As you know, I went through a pretty dark period of my life after…well, for about six years. And that path nearly ended in me trying to destroy all of Starling City. So I'm not going to pry more details out of you about what happened, or judge you for whatever you did in the service of a friend who you fought beside on the island. But I do wonder…what happened after that? Did you go somewhere else, or…how did you get back on the island in time to be rescued?"

Oliver shook his head. "That's a long story. It will suffice to say that, after about a year working for the Bratva organization, first as a glorified delivery boy, and then, after I learned to speak Russian ….something a lot darker, I uncovered a plot, hatched by an organization called H.I.V.E. They were going to kill a lot of innocent people in Moscow with a dirty nuclear bomb in order to try to jumpstart another war between Russia and the United States. Since I had already risen to the rank of captain in the Bratva organization by then, and I already had Anatoly's ear after saving his life, I was able to convince that man to lend Bratva resources to helping me stop the bombing. And we were able to stop that event, but…some of the other Bratva captains were afraid after that. Afraid we had made a powerful enemy in the H.I.V.E. organization by stopping one of their terrorist activities. The good news was, H.I.V.E. is an organization that heavily depends on the leadership and charisma of its head member, a man named Damien Darhk."

Isabel nodded silently as Oliver paused. She had definitely heard of Damien Darhk and H.I.V.E. before. Finally, after several seconds, the archer continued speaking. "So, Anatoly sent his best hit man to kill Darhk during his last night in Moscow. That hit-man was me. But there was a problem…"

Oliver sighed. "The method of assassination I was supposed to employ was a car bomb, since I couldn't get close enough to the man to poison or shoot him, and the terrorist leader always wore body armor wherever he went. Unfortunately, there was something that neither Anatoly nor I had counted on. For whatever reason, Damien had his wife and two children visit him during his last day in Moscow, after his bomb plan failed. And the three of them got into the car with the man right after I had set the bomb. "

Oliver shook his head. "And I…I couldn't get a clear shot at the man without hitting his wife or two daughters before they got in the vehicle either. After that…I couldn't do it. I refused to blow the bomb when two innocent children, and a woman who, for all I knew, knew nothing about her husband's terrorist activities, were in the car with Damien. So…I let Damien get away."

Isabel hugged Oliver gently. "It sounds to me like you did the right thing. Trying to kill Damien was the right thing to do, but so was sparring his life in order to not kill his wife and children."

Isabel frowned for a second, trying to figure out how to phrase this. "Sometimes, the bravest thing a person can do is to walk away. To turn away from the dark path they are on. You taught me that, Oliver. You were the one that showed me it was possible to come back from the darkness and become a decent human being again. Or even become a hero. And none of those things would be something that a monster could do."

Oliver shrugged and pulled away from Isabel's embrace, apparently unconvinced by her words. "Maybe, maybe not…in any case, the other Bratva captains were upset by my failure to kill Damien. They demanded that I be punished, and to save face, Anatoly had to do so. But instead of killing me, as some of the other captains requested, or even stripping me of my rank of captain, Anatoly had me exiled back to the island. He even said something to effect of: "If Oliver escapes from that hell-hole, he deserves to be one of us again."

Oliver chuckled. "I sincerely doubt that it was a coincidence that another seafaring vessel passed within just a few miles of the island less than two weeks later. Or that they did so when it was just early enough in the day that the fire I lit to signal my presence could be seen by the crew of that ship."

Isabel smirked. "You think your Russian friend arranged for you to be rescued?"

The archer smiled. "I have my suspicions. Anatoly did advise me that the best time to hunt for game in that region of the world was in the early morning. But when I asked him about that very subject in Russia a few months ago, the man smiled and laughed, but wouldn't reply."

The brunette raised her eyebrow. "So I'm guessing that was when I, you and your friends were in Russia together for a…" Isabel made quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "Business trip? When you said you had to help a friend that was in trouble?"

The blond man laughed nervously. "Yeah. Sorry about that. As you may have guessed, I never intended to look at any overseas holdings in Russia that day. Instead, while you were handling business matters, I was helping Diggle break his ex-wife, Lyla, out of a Russian prison. It's a long story."

Isabel chuckled. "I bet."

Oliver nodded. "In any case, I needed to call on my allies in the Bratva organization to help with that operation to save Lyla."

The hazel eyed nodded with a confused look on her face. "Wait a minute. Is this the same woman that we took back with us on the Queen jet when we left Russia? The one that helped Diggle chaperone Connor's party? Because she and Diggle seem to act pretty friendly around each other for ex-spouses."

Oliver shrugged. "Yeah. I don't really understand how that relationship works. But I do know that the two of them are dating again. Anyway, back to what I was saying, after I refused to kill Damien's wife and children, I decided that, monster or not, I was at least worthy enough to try accomplish the mission my father gave to me just before he died…to stop the people on the List, and by extension, stop the Undertaking. Although I didn't know about that part until about a year ago. And that pretty much brings you up to speed on my life after the Queen's Gambit wreck."

Isabel nodded her head. She briefly contemplated asking Oliver more about how Robert had died, but quickly thought better of it, before the blonde billionaire added one more interesting bit of information in a nervous tone of voice that indicated he knew he was walking on dangerous ground. "There is one other interesting thing, though. I just remembered that the version of the List I was given off the coast of the island just before….anyway, that version of the list had a woman with the first name, 'Isabel' on it. But I couldn't make out the last name because of water damage to the ledger that copy of the List was inside of. When I found another, undamaged copy of the List after returning to Starling City, however, I saw that there was no one by that name on that copy. And I…"

Oliver coughed nervously. "Wondered if you knew anything about that? I mean, I suppose it could have been another Isabel, but…"

The hazel-eyed woman sighed. "No, it was probably my name on that earlier copy of the List. You have to understand something though, Oliver. At first, the Undertaking was going to be about trying to save the Glades from crime and poverty, not destroying it. I wasn't privy to many of the details of what that was going to look like, because I wasn't part of the inner circle for the Undertaking but…"

Isabel took a deep breathe. "I believed, at that time, when I had just been hired as a new executive at a company in Coast City, that the Undertaking was going to be a good thing. In fact, it was your fath…Robert, who invited me to join in that venture, originally. And even though I was still upset with him for…you know. I still believed that he was a good man who truly wanted to help the Glades."

Oliver just nodded with a stoic expression on his face. "Okay, then. What happened later? Why weren't you on latter copies of the List?"

Isabel shrugged. "I'm guessing I was taken off the List shortly after the Queen's Gambit was sunk. I didn't really know what happened, but I had heard, shortly before Robert died, that your father had withdrawn his support for the Undertaking. So I did the same thing after your family's boat sank. I didn't have any idea that Malcolm was involved In Robert's death, however, since I didn't know he was behind the Undertaking at the time. And the rest is history."

The blonde man smiled. "Thank you for telling me that, Isabel. I'm really glad you weren't part of any of the plans to destroy the Glades."

Isabel hung her head. "I almost helped Slade do something a lot worse than that…"

Oliver raised Isabel's chin, and the rest of her head, with his hand. "But you didn't. And that's the important thing. And yes, your past isn't perfect, but neither is mine. And we love each other all the same, right?"

Isabel smiled. "Absolutely." The brunette pulled away from Oliver's hand and gave the man a mischievous grin. "So, Mr. Silver Tongue. Cantonese, English, Japanese, Russian. Are there any other languages you can speak?"

Oliver grinned. "Well…I guess I'm still pretty good at French since I learned that language in my Junior and Senior years of high school. It was actually one of the few classes I bothered to pay attention to back then. But that was mostly because I wanted to learn French in order to use it to hit on girls…"

Isabel rolled her eyes then lightly smacked Oliver's right arm, causing the blonde man to flinch. "Hey! That was years ago, Isabel…"

Isabel gave Oliver an annoyed look. "I'm not mad about you using your linguistically gifted mind…and that is exactly what you have, Oliver, a gifted mind, in order to impress women long ago, which is exactly what a classic underachieving genius would use that ability for. But I am a little upset with you for never speaking to me in French. I mean, it's only the most romantic language on the planet, Oliver, and I am your girlfriend. Do the math."

Oliver ran his hands through his hair. "I guess I never thought of it that way. I mean, we already speak to each other in Russian when we are alone sometimes. And I didn't even know you liked French. Plus, I'm a little rusty with the "the language of romance", but I suppose I could try to brush up on it and speak to you in that language on occasion. Does that sound good to you?"

Isabel chuckled and said "Oui.", just before she pulled Oliver in for a long kiss. Almost a minute later, after Isabel and Oliver pulled away from each other, the brunette added. "And thank you for trusting me with your story, Oliver."

Oliver nodded back and smiled. "Likewise."

Seconds later, Oliver turned around to go back to cleaning out his drawer. As he was doing so, however, he saw Isabel picking up a small black box that had fallen out that dresser when the blonde man had moving some of his clothes around while distracted by his girlfriend's questions. The man gulped when Isabel picked the item up. "Isabel, don't open…."

But Oliver's words came too late, as Isabel was already opening up the box before the first word of that sentence left his lips. And when the contents of that case, a white-gold ring with Russian engravings and a large clear diamond on it, were revealed by this act, the brunette didn't react in any of the ways he would have expected his girlfriend to react to finding the engagement ring that he had bought for her. Instead of excitement, or joy, Isabel's face had an angry expression on it when she raised her head to look at Oliver, even while her eyes clearly conveyed feelings of confusion and panic in Isabel's person while she put the ring and its case on top of Oliver's dresser. "What is this!?"

Oliver nervously ran his hand through his hair again. "That….is an engagement ring. Obviously. I bought it, purely on impulse, about a week ago after seeing it in a shop window while I was out walking. And…I don't know, it just reminded me of you, and I was thinking…based upon our circumstances, that we were going to get married eventually anyway. I didn't intend you to just find the ring like that, though. And I was going to wait till we had been together a while to give it to you, but…."

Isabel smiled for a brief moment, but the gesture was quickly replaced by a frown. "What made you think I would want to marry you, Oliver?"

Oliver Queen's face was stoic now, but the look in his eyes made him resemble a hurt and confused deer in the headlight as he answered. "What?"

Isabel, seeing that she had hurt Oliver's feelings, sighed deeply. "I didn't mean it to come out like that. I do love you, Oliver…."

"And I love you, Isabel." Oliver interrupted the brunette.

The hazel-eyed woman sighed again. "But that doesn't necessarily mean I want to get married. Can't we just live together and be a family that way?! You, me, and Connor…"

Oliver shook his head. "We can! We are! That's what we are all doing right now! But I just thought that, in the future, we might get married, you know?! I don't mind waiting a few years for that, if that's what you want…."

Isabel shook her head. "You aren't hearing me, Oliver! In fact, you know what?! All of this...the whole moving in together thing. I think it was a mistake!"

Oliver's face fell for a moment, but the blonde man quickly regained his composure before he spoke. "You're right, Isabel! I don't understand! Could you please explain to me what I did wrong?!"

Isabel shook her head and turned her back to Oliver as she quickly began putting several pieces of her clothing back in the small bag she had just unloaded them from. All the while, the brunette did not allow her boyfriend to see the moisture in her eyes. So Oliver had no way of knowing that it was taking every bit of willpower Isabel had not to burst into tears at that particular moment. "Forget it, Oliver! I've made up mind! I'm moving back to my apartment! I'll see you at work on Monday. Don't bother calling me before then."

And with that, Isabel left Oliver's room, pretending to ignore her boyfriend's entreaties to stay, even though every word the archer spoke, and the very thought of being apart from the blonde man and Connor, broke Isabel's heart. All she knew at the moment was that she felt scared, and trapped, and that she had to get out of this house right now.

Oliver followed Isabel all the way to the front of the Queen mansion, only stopping when Isabel stepped outside of the front door and slammed it. And that was the moment Oliver Queen, the Arrow, and one of the strongest people on the planet, completely lost it as tears silently started to fall from his eyes. The man quickly retreated to his room so that neither his son nor his mother could happen upon him and see him do cry, but Oliver could not stop the tears from coming as his mind filled with questions: 'What the hell just happened?!What did I say? What did I do wrong to make Isabel leave just after she told me she loved me? Is she going to come back? Are we over as a couple now, or just not living together anymore?' And last, but not least, among the questions that Oliver had a feeling would be haunting him all night and preventing him from sleeping was: 'And what am I going to tell Connor?'

But the primary thought that occupied Oliver's brain at the moment, the one that kept his tears falling, was this: 'I've ruined everything!'

* * *

'I've ruined everything!', Isabel Rochev thought to herself miserably as she continued to cry on the front porch of the Queen Mansion. The same spot that she had broken down crying several minutes ago after the hazel-eyed woman had found herself unable to take a single step further away from the Queen mansion, Oliver and Connor. The brunette was in a state of complete panic and despair as she agonized over what she should do next. For it seemed she couldn't make herself leave Oliver Queen, but the prospect of staying with Oliver when she knew the man wanted to make her his wife someday terrified the brunette, for reasons that Isabel knew weren't logical, but that were important to her all the same.

Isabel was still crying on the front porch of the Queen mansion several minutes after she had slammed the front door in the middle of the night, when another person, who had heard Isabel leaving the house, opened that same door silently enough that the brunette, in her emotionally heightened state of ambivalence, didn't even hear it. That same person then closed the front door to the mansion and sat next to Isabel on the porch, startling the brunette, before said person, none other than Moira Queen, spoke in a serious tone that matched the stoic expression on her face. "What happened, Miss Rochev? Why are you here, suitcase in hand, crying on my front porch at 10:30 in the evening?!"

Isabel shrugged. "It's complicated. And what do you care? You don't even like me! I thought you would want to throw a party after I decided to move out of the Queen Mansion!"

Moira shrugged. "First of all, you haven't moved out yet, Isabel. And judging from the fact that you have spent the last five minutes or so crying on my family's front porch, and that not even a tenth of your belongings are in that suitcase, I don't think you actually want to leave. So what happened? Did you and Oliver get in a fight, or…"

"Why do you care?!" Isabel repeated her question.

Moira sighed. "I care about my son and grandson, Isabel. As you may have figured out by now, I place taking care of my family above most other concerns, especially these days. And whether I like you or not, Oliver and Connor love you. You bring joy to their lives…and I don't want them to lose that when both my son and grandson have already lost so much. I care if you leave because I know that Oliver and his six year-old son will be heartbroken if you do. So let me ask you again, what happened?"

Isabel sighed, although it was partially a sigh of relief now that she knew that the Queen matriarch actually wanted her to stay in the Queen mansion, despite her and Moira's differences. The brunette wiped away her tears. "I found an engagement ring when Oliver was cleaning out one of his dresser drawers to make room for my stuff. He was going to propose to me later. I don't know when, exactly, but he was going to ask me to marry him at some point in the future. And I just thought…that was jumping the gun a little."

To Moira's credit, the Queen matriarch only looked shocked for half a second before she put a stoic look back on her face. "I see. Oliver can be…impulsive some times, especially concerning people he really loves…"

Isabel nodded, not making eye contact with Moira. "You've got that right!"

Moira ignored Isabel's interruption and continued speaking. "So my son's actions should indicate to you that his feelings for you are very strong. Oliver had always been a little…commitment phobic in the past. He dated Laurel for over two years before she was able to convince him to move in with her…just before that incident with him, Sara, and everyone else on the Queen's Gambit happened. And I can tell you that marrying Laurel never entered my son's thoughts. And that was Oliver's longest relationship so far, Isabel!"

Moira shook her head. "But with you, it's different for some reason. You and Oliver haven't even been together three months before he wanted you to move in with him, and he's already planning to have a future with you. So even though I agree that Oliver's action buying you an engagement ring was…premature, to say the least, I think you should just take it as a sign that my son loves you a great deal. The two of you can work out the details of how fast your relationship moves (and for both our sakes, I urge you not to let him push you to move too fast) together…."

Isabel shook her head and wiped away a few more tears that had just come out of her eyes. "I know all that, Moira! I know Oliver loves me, and I love him! That's not the problem! Hell, for the most part, I'm not even concerned with how fast my relationship with your son is progressing, because everything else just feels right with him. It's just…I know Oliver isn't trying to pressure me to marry him anytime soon. I get that. But buying that ring indicates to me that he does want to get married to me someday, and I know he will be disappointed if that never happens."

Moira frowned, but her eyes indicated the Queen matriarch had mixed feelings on this issue. "So, you don't think you will ever want to marry my son?"

Isabel shrugged. "Oliver's not the problem, Moira. I love him, and I certainly could see myself spending the rest of my life with him. And it's not that I don't want to marry Oliver, specifically. I'm just not sure…"

"You will want to get married at all in the future?" Moira finished.

Isabel nodded. "Yeah. It's just…I've seen and heard of so many marriages that ended badly. And I don't want that to happen to Oliver and me. I would be perfectly happy just to live with him and Connor, though."

Moira nodded. "I see." The Queen matriarch sighed. "You know, Isabel. I've been married twice, and as you well know, both of those marriages ended badly. But not all married couples end up that way, some of them have perfectly happy, long lives together. And even for a…seasoned woman, such as myself, it's never too late to try to make things work. You may know that Walter and I have been seeing a lot more of each other lately."

Isabel nodded. She knew a little about that. Walter Steele, Moira's ex-husband, had come to the Queen Mansion the day after Connor's party with a peace offering of a bouquet of yellow flowers and an apology for both Moira and Oliver for some of the things he had said to the mother and son (which Oliver had told Isabel about) the night before. The African-American man then had a long, private conversation with Moira Queen that day that had lasted several hours. And then Walter came back the next day to speak with Moira again. Then many other days since then. Several days ago, the man had even come to the Queen mansion early in the evening, and he ate at the Queen family's breakfast table the next morning.

Although it wasn't exactly discussed why this had happened…it didn't exactly take a rocket scientist to figure out that Moira and Walter had started dating again. Even Connor had begun asking Oliver if Walter was grandma's boyfriend. In truth, Isabel didn't understand Moira and Walter's relationship any more than Diggle and Lyla's, but the brunette could tell that Moira seemed happier since Walter had started coming to the Queen mansion on a regular basis. And Isabel was thankful for this, since a happy Moira was a lot easier to get along with then an angry one.

Isabel shook her head. "I know all that. I don't think all marriages are doomed. Just ones that I get close to. How much do you know about my past, before I came to work for Queen Consolidated, Moira?"

Moira shrugged. "Only a little." The Queen matriarch lied. In truth, she had done a substantial amount of research on Isabel shortly after she had found out about her husband's affair. And although Moira's hatred of Isabel had been at its peak at that time, a small part of her had pitied the young woman who had lost both her parents and adoptive parents by the time she was even in her teens. That was the primary reason that, after having the brunette fired from QC, Moira had set Isabel up to get a job in faraway Coast City instead of attempting to get the brunette blacklisted in every business sector she had influence over.

Isabel frowned. "Then you may not know that my biological parents were married. But that didn't stop my dad from abandoning my mom before I was born. Or my mom dying on the delivery table a few minutes after I came into the world. And my dad…he was found dead in an alley three years later. Apparently, he drank himself to death. I found all of this out by the time I was fourteen, after I did a little research."

Moira nodded. Not really knowing what to say, the blonde woman went with the obvious. "I'm sorry."

Isabel blinked back tears. "So am I, but it didn't stop there. Three years after the married couple that adopted me brought me to the states, they and their fifteen year-old son died in a car accident…on their way to pick me up from ballet practice…"

Moira shook her head. "I really don't think that means…"

But Isabel would not be interrupted. "And then, of course. There was the situation with me and your husband. I ruined that marriage, too. Or I would have. If Robert had lived."

Moira sighed more heavily than Isabel had ever seen the older women sigh seconds later, the Queen matriarch spoke. "I'm sorry for the things that happened to you and your loved ones when you were a child, Isabel. I truly am. But none of those things that happened to your parents or your foster family were your fault."

Isabel shook her head. "You don't know that."

Moira would have none of that. "I do know that. It's no more your fault that those things happened then it is my fault that my parents were cold and distant when I was growing up, or that they both died of lung cancer when I was in my teens. It took me a long time to recover from all of that. But I eventually did. And I know now that I wasn't responsible for my parents, any more than you were responsible for what happened to the people you talked about. All of those people made their own choices, Isabel. The two of us aren't responsible for any of that."

Isabel just nodded in response to that, but the contemplative look on the brunette's face indicated she didn't know whether she could believe Moira or not. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by Moira's next thought. "You were responsible for how you conducted yourself with my late husband though. That is true."

Isabel nodded again, while turning her eyes away from the Queen matriarch, before the latter party added with a sigh. "You were not, however, responsible for my marriage with Robert being in the process of failing before he died. I wish I could blame that on you. In fact, I did. For several years. But the facts just don't add up to that conclusion."

Isabel looked at Moira in confusion, before the older woman elaborated on her words. "My marriage with Robert was a troubled one for years before you entered the picture, Isabel. There were a lot of fights between me and him. Screaming matches that would last for hours, followed by days of silence between Robert and me. And there were also other women, other affairs that Robert had before the one he had with you. And I didn't help matters by having an affair of my own. Even so, I am glad to have Thea in my life, so I can't regret everything about that bad decision."

Isabel didn't know how to respond to any of this, so she just nodded diplomatically as Moira continued speaking. "The point is, my marriage with Robert had been unhappy for years before you came along, and my late husband had stated several times that he wanted out of the marriage before he even met you."

Isabel gulped , then spoke in a measured tone, as she was unsure how to process what she was hearing. "And you think I was just an escape hatch for him!?"

Moira shrugged. "I have no idea. I have no clue whether my late husband actually cared about you or not. And I don't really want to know the answer to that question. But I do know that, even though I didn't want to see it at the time, Robert would have left his marriage to me sooner or later, had he lived, even if he hadn't met you, even if he had to leave me all by himself. My point is, even though I still really don't like what happened between you and Robert back then….you were not responsible for his marriage to me failing. And I think me realizing that recently is the reason I have finally been able to forgive you for what you did back then over the past couple of days."

Moira shook her head. "And like I said before, you weren't responsible for any of those other marriages ending either. Because believe it or not, you don't have enough influence to make every marriage in your general vicinity dissolve merely due to your presence. No one is that powerful."

The Queen matriarch chose that moment to stand up. "Now, I'm going to go back inside, and I suggest you do the same, Isabel. There are two people in that house that really love you after all, and you can sort out the pace of your relationship to my son out with Oliver in the morning. But this moment, what happens right now, is up to you. And the consequences of what you decide now will be on you alone."

Isabel only hesitated a second before she got up, took her suitcase in her hand, and re-entered the Queen Mansion right behind Moira. The brunette then turned towards the now-smiling Queen matriarch and said. "You're right. I do belong here, with Oliver...and with Connor. Thank you for making me realize that…and for everything else. I know it couldn't have been easy for you to talk about some of those things with me. Or to forgive me for what I did, all those years ago."

Moira allowed herself a small smile. "It wasn't. But for my child and grandchild's happiness, it was worth it. However, just so you know, if anyone asks, this conversation never happened."

Isabel smirked. She understood that Moira was now trying to save face by not having to admit to anyone else that she had forgiven her late husband's former mistress, and the brunette supposed she could make that small concession to Moira's pride, all things considered. "Of course."

"One more thing…" Moira added with a subtle smile still on her face after Isabel began walking back to her and Oliver's room. "I'm glad you decided to stay, and not break my son and grandson's hearts by leaving. Now that we are actually starting to get along…I would have hated to have to destroy you."

Isabel was just barely able to suppress a gulp and speak in a neutral tone. "Yes, that would have been unfortunate, indeed. Good night, Moira."

"Good night, Isabel." Moira said in a similar tone as she walked back towards her bedroom.

* * *

When Isabel walked back into the room she shared with Oliver, the latter party quickly bolted off of the bed, wiped the tears that had been running down his face away, and began to speak rapidly. "Isabel? You came back! Look, I'm sorry for accidentally springing the subject of marriage on you so soon. We don't even need to think about that right now, if you don't want to…."

Isabel quickly dropped her suitcase on the floor, closed the distance between her and Oliver, and drew her boyfriend into a deep kiss that lasted almost two minutes before the couple had to come up for breathe. "We can talk in the morning, Oliver. But right now, I don't need words, I need you. Because I love you. And I missed you."

The brunette knew that last sentence didn't make much sense, since she had only been gone for twenty minutes or so, and she had been the one that had left, but the words just felt like the right ones somehow. Evidentially, Oliver agreed with that sentiment. Because the last thing he said before pulling Isabel into another kiss that would kick off several hours of passion between him and his girlfriend was "I love you too, Isabel. And I missed you as well!"

 **Author's note: Okay, several things to say here, so I better get to it. First of all, I would like thank all my readers, especially the reviewers of my last chapter: (in no particular order) Troll 99, Pootamis, highlander348, and Phillipe363. Phillipe363 also gave me some good ideas that I made use for Oliver's backstory. Also, I think I may have read another fic that contained some of the ideas for Oliver's backstory that I used here, so if anybody can identify which fic first had Oliver join the Bratva in Russia during his fourth year in exile, I would like to give credit to that fanfic's writer as well. Please keep in mind that I still have not seen all of season 3, I'm only going off of what I've seen and heard about that season so far, so Oliver's backstory in this chapter may not perfectly align with the show.**

 **Secondly, I thought I would try to actually get into, and resolve the problem of Isabel apparently being on the original List… supposedly a list of people who were opposing Robert Queen's intentions to protect the Glades. It never made sense to me, even within the context of the show, given Isabel's professed love for Robert, that she would have opposed the Queen patriarch's ventures while he was still alive. Therefore, I created the scenario you see in this chapter to explain that disparity. I hope you all don't find it too far-fetched.**

 **Oh, and in case any of you were worried about what Isabel's fear of marriage might mean for the Olibel relationship, well…let's just say that issue will be resolved later in the story. That is all I will say about that for now.**

 **Finally, I would like to say that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! A big shout out and thank you goes out to my beta-reader, without whom this story would be uglier than the aftermath of a piranhanado (think Sharknado, but with piranhas). Your help is very, very appreciated!**

 **-supercode**

 **Addendum: I have gone back and edited certain portions of this chapter for plot related reasons that I will not spoil for you now. Although I usually hate doing this kind of thing, in this case, it had to be done. I hope this doesn't irk any of you, my readers, too much.**


	7. The NannyEve of Mayhem

….Days later…

"Come on, Isabel! Are you almost here!? Are you getting closer? I want to get back to the mansion before it's time to open presents with the rest of the family!"

Isabel rolled her eyes under her lids in response to Thea Queen's whispered words over a cellphone line while she used all her remaining four senses (which the brunette had recently discovered worked even better when her eyes were closed) while standing on top of a rooftop to monitor Thea's "progress" evading her. "Relax, I've almost found you, already. You only had an hour head start, Thea, and you're a smart girl. I would have hoped it would have taken me more than the 30 minutes we have been at this to find you. But like I said, the exercise will last as long as it will take me to find you, so you can blame me if we aren't back in two hours. Besides, I always thought it was a little odd that people in your family open one gift on Christmas Eve, anyway!"

Isabel smirked after she spoke this last sentence. She didn't really care that the Queen family was a little spoiled when it came to opening Christmas presents, even though none of the foster families that Isabel had grown up with, including the one that had actually loved her, had a similar custom. But she did want to get a rise out of Thea, so that the younger woman would make a little more noise in order to make it easier for Isabel to find her. Unsurprisingly, the plan worked. "Whatever you say, Miss Rochev! But whatever you might think, with you living in the Queen mansion, and with how close you are with my brother and nephew, you're practically family already, so you better get used to our traditions. And by the way, I think you are bluffing! There is no way that you are going to find THIS hiding spot in under two hour…"

Thea was startled by a tap on her shoulder and jumped slightly before she turned around to see Isabel Rochev, clad in her full Midnight Sentinel costume, grinning smugly at the younger woman. "It's a good thing you are a naturally gifted fighter, Thea, because your stealth skills leave a lot to be desired! I mean, seriously?! Trying to hide in a 'dark alley' this early in the evening? What made you think that would work?"

Thea Queen, who was clad in a red outfit of her own which was similar to Roy's, rolled her eyes. "Sorry I didn't live up to your lofty expectations of me, Isabel! And I'll have you know that nobody else has even taken a second glance at this alley since I started hiding here! Plus, your enhanced senses do sort of give you an advantage in the tracking department!"

Isabel chuckled, then sighed dramatically. "That's no excuse, Thea! I mean, you could have at least tried to run when I said I was close to finding you. Of course, that wouldn't have helped, since I'm still a faster runner than you. But, oh well…I guess we will get back in time to for presents after all." The small grin on the slightly older woman's face gave away that she was only pretending to be disappointed with her pupil, who had actually managed to evade Isabel longer than the latter party had expected she would by hiding herself in a noisy, smelly section of the Glades that had confused Isabel's senses for a short time.

Isabel was impressed with Thea's training progress over the last few weeks, and she was actually glad she had decided to trust Thea with the knowledge of her abilities a couple of days ago. It had seemed like the right thing to at the time, since she had been training Thea, as well as Felicity, to improve their fighting skills over the past couple of weeks. But despite the fact that Felicity had been under Isabel's tutelage longer, Thea had proven to be a much quicker learner, and, as of lately, a more formidable fighter, then Team Arrow's tech expert. However, Isabel thought that difference was probably partially the result of the two younger women's differing motivations for accepting combat training in the first place.

Felicity had made it clear that she wanted to learn to fight so that she could defend herself from Team Arrows enemies, should they ever try to attack her again, and so that she wouldn't feel helpless if such a situation occurred. And to a large extent, Felicity had achieved that goal, since she was already a decent enough fighter, after weeks of Isabel's punishing training regime, to defend herself against anyone that wasn't a skilled opponent. But that was where the tech wizard's motivations for learning martial arts ended.

Felicity made it clear she knew she was needed as Team Arrow's tech expert, and thus, that she probably wouldn't be fighting crime directly with the field team anytime soon. Her training habits reflected this, and although the young blonde woman was still increasing her martial arts skills, she was now doing so much slower than before, electing to spend her time keeping her tech skills current, or hanging out with her superhero boyfriend in Central City instead of adding more training sessions every week to increase her skills faster. Although Isabel had been disappointed about this turn of events with her new friend, she had respected Felicity's wishes instead of pushing the I.T. girl to accelerate her training.

Thea had been completely different, as Isabel had quickly determined after the young Queen woman had come to her the day after Connor's party to request that Isabel take over her training. The brunette's expectations hadn't been that high when the younger woman had requested this, with Thea citing Sara's training methods "not pushing me to learn fast enough" as her reason for wanting her brother's girlfriend to train her from now on. After all, Thea had made a rather poor showing during her first impromptu training session with Isabel on the day of Team Arrow's final battle with Slade. But it quickly became apparent during Thea's second training session under Isabel that the younger woman's skills, strength, and stamina had already increased a great deal by then. Thea had been able to endure a full hour of Isabel's brutal training methods (which were just slightly less punishing then Slade's tutelage of his apprentice had been in its early stages) the day after Connor's party.

Isabel had been impressed by Thea's rapid progress since the night of the attempted prison break, and had honored the younger woman's request to teach her to fight. And Thea had single-mindedly devoted herself to achieving that task, soaking up every technique, every bit of knowledge that Isabel threw her way, like a sponge, while training five days a week before working at night. Thea had even wanted to train seven days a week, but Isabel, who knew Thea probably wasn't getting enough sleep as it was, had denied that request. After all, Thea's training would do her no good if her body became exhausted and broken from training too hard and too fast. Even Slade had known better then to make Isabel train every day.

Despite this hurdle, however, Thea had resorted to learning more from another source, her boyfriend Roy. The youngest Queen woman had started taking archery lessons with him on the side, in addition to the hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship lessons that Isabel was teaching her. Then, several days ago, Thea had told Isabel about the training she was getting from Roy, and confessed the real reason that she was so determined to learn how to fight so quickly.

Thea Queen wanted to join her brother, boyfriend, Sara Lance and Isabel Rochev, in their never-ending battle to protect Starling City. She wanted to fight crime on the streets, and defend the innocent, just like them. She wanted to be a hero….And also to help Team Arrow metaphorically nail her biological father to a wall.

Isabel knew that declaration should have worried her. And it did. She knew Oliver would never approve of having his little sister fight crime with the rest of Team Arrow. But the brunette also realized that Thea was every bit as stubborn as her brother and mother were. It was a Queen family trait, it seemed, and Thea's father in all-but-blood had possessed that same streak of stubbornness as well. Therefore, the hazel-eyed women had postulated that Thea would not stop trying to be a hero even if she was asked to, or if Isabel stopped training her.

So the Midnight Sentinel made the decision to keep training the youngest "official" Queen because she had already seen that Thea had the natural physical ability, drive, and intelligence to join Team Arrow at some point in the future. Furthermore, the slightly older woman couldn't help but be filled with pride at how far Thea had come (mostly under the female co-CEO's tutelage, since Sara had refused to push Thea as hard as Isabel, even after Thea's stamina had increased) since she had first started learning to fight. For all these reasons, Isabel had reluctantly agreed to continue training Thea, even adding special 'vigilante lessons' to Thea's usual regime, in exchange for the younger woman's promise that she would not try to go out into the field and play hero until Isabel told her she was ready to do so…a condition Thea had reluctantly agreed to.

It was funny, Isabel thought to herself, how quickly her professional role as Thea's mentor had blossomed into something very much like friendship with the younger woman that she had hated less than a year ago. In fact, Isabel had even come to trust Thea, to a point, during that short span of time, even to the point of revealing to the younger woman that she still had some leftover abilities from the Mirakuru, after Thea had seen fit to trust Isabel with her secret desire to be a vigilante. And so far, both women had kept the others secret well.

All of these developments were pretty damned remarkable, in the hazel-eyed woman's opinion, since Thea had been #2 on her personal list of people she hated most (right behind Moira, and just ahead of Oliver Queen) for years. This hatred for Thea had been present in Isabel's person for over six years, despite the fact that the brunette had always known her hatred of Thea, who had no say in the matter of her parentage, was illogical. But then, the brunette reflected, a lot had happened in the last several months to change all of that.

It had all started on the night of Moira's "Welcome Back to Queen Consolidated!" party, when the eldest Queen had disabused Isabel of the notion that the Queen family had borne any responsibility for Robert's death. Although she had still hated Moira (who Isabel still, to this day, didn't like much) and by extension, Thea, for the former's part in the Undertaking, at that time, the brunette's hatred for the two female Queen's had lessened that day. Even though the brunette still hadn't been able to understand at the time how Robert had been able to love Thea if she wasn't biologically his. However, Isabel had come to respect both the Queen matriarch, and Thea Queen, over time.

Although Isabel still privately held it against Moira that the Queen matriarch had helped cover up her late husband's murder after the fact, and assisted Malcolm Merlyn in killing hundreds of people, essentially choosing her own family over every man, woman and child in the Glades, the brunette held onto that resentment with far less conviction then before. What's more, Isabel no longer held any resentment toward Thea at all, and the former party had also been able to let go of her hard feelings concerning Thea's parentage, after the heroine privately admitted to herself weeks ago that she really wasn't in a position to judge Moira for anything that had happened during the Queen matriarch's brief affair with Malcolm. Isabel's own history was far from spotless, after all.

Another reason that Isabel had let go of her resentment towards Moira and Thea was that, time and time again, she had been surprised and impressed by just how deep the two female Queen's commitment to family was. The Queen women's actions at Moira's party, the night Slade had threatened to destroy the Queen family line, and the day of Connor's party had demonstrated how quickly both of those woman would jump to the defense of a family member. And since the process of falling in love with Oliver had already begun the process of softening Isabel's heart by then, the Queen women's actions on those days, as well as her positive interactions with Moira and Thea, had eventually forced Miss Rochev to reevaluate her opinion of the Queen women.

Spending time around Oliver's son had also helped improve Isabel's relationship with Thea. For as the brunette had come to love Connor, she had finally understood how a parent could love a child that wasn't biologically theirs…Just as Robert had loved Thea.

This positive reevaluation of the Queen women had profoundly changed Isabel's interactions patterns with both of those women, to the point that Thea and Isabel had even begun the process of becoming friends lately. The shift in the relationship between Moira and Isabel had been a bit less profound, since both women still didn't like each other very much. But even so, Isabel and Moira were getting along a lot better these days, and neither of them hated the other anymore, since they had a lot in common now, such as loving Oliver and Connor, and looking out for Thea Queen.

Isabel's thoughts were disrupted, however, by her cellphone ringing. The Midnight Sentinel huffed in annoyance and was about to hit the "ignore call button", so that she could explain to Thea some ways she could better hide from others in an urban environment. But the brunette quickly hit the "accept call" button instead when she noticed that Felicity was calling her on the emergency line that was usually only used for Team Arrow business. "What's the situation, Felicity?!"

Felicity's voice sounded a lot more nervous than usual on the other end of the line, which also made Isabel nervous, although the brunette's facial expression did not reflect this. At least, not until Felicity had finished telling the Midnight Sentinel what was wrong. "It's about Connor, Isabel! I just happened to be looking at the monitor we use to track Connor's movement using that tracker chip Oliver placed on the watch he gave Connor for his birthday and…long story short, he's far away from the Queen mansion, pretty close to your present location in the Glade's, actually. And Connor's nanny is definitely not supposed to be taking him out there! Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but…"

Isabel's eyes widened slightly as she interrupted what she was sure would have been a small rant from Felicity. A rant Isabel did not have time for right now. "No, you were right to tell me, but I need more information! Are you sure that Oliver or Moira didn't just come home early and take Connor on an impromptu trip…"

"I'm sure! Moira is busy giving a press conference in front of City Hall right now, Connor's nanny isn't answering her phone, and I've already called Oliver, who was still out doing last minute Christmas shopping, but he's stuck in traffic without his Arrow gear on the side of town, and…"

The brunette cut Felicity off again, ignoring Thea's panicked expression and repeated inquiries about what was going on, and what it had to do with her nephew. "Say no more. Tell me where Connor is headed, and I will find him. And if someone has kidnapped that little boy, well…I may not kill them, but they will wish they were dead by the time this is over!"

Isabel hung up her phone after Felicity sent said phone a map of Starling City, which was continuously updating itself to show Connor's present location as a small red dot. The heroine, who was profoundly glad she and Thea had elected to perform this training exercise in their vigilante costumes (although Thea's red costume had not seen any real action yet, and Isabel had purposely chosen not to bring her combination voice changer/com device, since she had thought that any noise coming from that device would have hindered her ability to find Thea), quickly slid her phone into the cell-holder slot between the handlebars of her nearby motorcycle, and revved up the engine to said vehicle. Before Isabel could drive away after Connor, however, Thea Queen ran in front of Isabel's bike and screamed at the brunette. "No! You are going to tell me what is the matter with my nephew right now, and you are going to let me help you find him!"

Isabel rolled her eyes. She really didn't have time for this, but she knew Thea would not back down from trying to protect the newest and most vulnerable addition to her family. "No time to explain, but I think Connor may have been kidnapped and I have to go find him now, Thea. If you want to help, climb on the bike and hang on!"

Thea immediately complied by jumping onto Isabel's motorbike and wrapping her hands around the co-CEO's waist. Before Thea had even gotten a good grip on her trainer's waist, Isabel's bike was already moving forward, and it wasn't even a full second later before Isabel pulled the motorbike she had borrowed from the Arrow cave for this training exercise out of the alleyway and made a high-speed, sharp turn in the general direction of Connor Hawke's signal.

* * *

….a few minutes later….

It didn't take long for Isabel and Thea to find Connor, since the owner of the vehicle that Connor was riding shotgun in didn't appear to be in any great hurry to get where she was going, and didn't seem to have in any clue she was currently being followed, since Isabel was driving without headlights. Isabel narrowed her eyes as she spotted the vehicle and its driver, both of which the brunette recognized immediately, as well as Connor, who Isabel could tell with her enhanced senses was unconscious (probably chloroformed, the heroine guessed, based on the absence of any head wound that she could see) due to the little boy's unusually slowed heartbeat and breathing. But what Isabel found most infuriating about the situation was that it was Connor's own nanny who was driving her car towards the outskirts of the city with Connor Hawke in tow and a smirk on her face.

Isabel's glare intensified as she waited for the opportune moment to stop the vehicle without hurting Connor in the process. The brunette had a bad feeling about the woman that Moira had hired to watch after Connor ever since she met her, and Oliver (who said he could have sworn that he knew the woman from somewhere, but couldn't quite put his finger on where), and Connor had both agreed that something about the middle-aged red-head felt "off" somehow. Actually, Connor had said that his nanny "gave him the willies", but it was the same basic point, Even so, Moira had sworn that Maybridge Popuns (Isabel mentally kicked herself for not figuring out that name was probably made up) came highly recommended, and even a background check that Felicity had done hadn't revealed any discrepancies in the woman's history.

That last point worried Isabel a lot, because that meant that either Maybridge's identity was legit, and she had just spontaneously decided to kidnap a child after years of being a respectable nanny (which was unlikely), or that whomever had falsified that woman's identity, and probably hired "Maybridge" to kidnap Connor, was a very powerful enemy of the Queen family with a lot of pull in Starling City. And the second, more likely, possibility frightened Isabel a lot more than the first. In any case, all that Isabel knew right now was that she was incredibly pissed that Connor's nanny had apparently seen fit to kidnap the youngest member of the Queen family, and from the tensing of her trainee's muscles behind her, and the young woman's whispered exclamation of "That bitch!," Thea Queen felt exactly the same way right now.

Thankfully, the nanny's vehicle eventually pulled into a long, straight road with no other vehicles nearby, and Isabel saw her chance to strike the still-slow moving vehicle. The Midnight Sentinel wasted no time as she pulled out her short-range EMP device, set it for a delayed "detonation", and flung said device as far ahead of her as she could while stopping Oliver's motorcycle abruptly. She didn't want to break two of her boyfriend's cycles in one month, after all. Within seconds, the desired result occurred, and Maybridge's slow moving vehicle eventually came to a complete stop just as it reached the bottom of a hill that its momentum wasn't quite enough to get the car over. It was only seconds after this occurred, as Isabel and Thea sped toward the stopped car in the Arrow's vehicle, that Maybridge finally seemed to figure out what was going on.

The brown-eyed blonde quickly steeped out of the car with a scowl on her face and a .45 in her hands that she tried to fire at the Midnight Sentinel and her apprentice, but Isabel's enhanced senses were able to tell the meta-human exactly where Connor's kidnapper was about to fire, allowing Isabel to swerve slightly to the right a fraction of a second before she would have been hit by gunfire.

That first shot towards Isabel and Thea's direction rang out with a loud BANG! But there would not be a second. Because the Midnight Sentinel quickly close-lined Maybridge with one arm, dropping Connor's kidnapper to the ground and rolling the .45 several feet away, even as she drove her boyfriend's decelerating bike with the other arm.

Isabel allowed herself to rub the sore arm she had hit Connor's kidnapper with only once after the bike came to a complete stop… before reminding herself that her healing factor would see to it that her pain would fade quickly. But in that time, Thea Queen had already jumped off of the back of her brother's bike and started walking toward Maybridge, who was, surprisingly, rising to her feet already. The Midnight Sentinel's apprentice then proceeded to punch her nephew's kidnapper right in the nose as hard as she could, breaking the cartilage completely.

Isabel was slightly impressed that Miss Popuns was able to recover from that blow quick enough to punch Thea's right cheek while her nose was still bleeding. So the Midnight Sentinel silently acknowledged that Connor's kidnapper must have had some combat training to take this much punishment. But for the most part, Isabel was too filled with rage at Maybridge to care about that, and the brunette felt no remorse whatsoever when she kicked the older woman in the gut as hard as she could and slammed Connor's nanny against her own car.

Isabel and Thea then wordlessly restrained Connor's kidnapper and tied her up even as the older women tried (unsuccessfully) to spit in Isabel's face as she screamed "Let go of me, you bloodsucking bitch! Get your filthy hands off of me!"

The Midnight Sentinel ignored the older woman's words and turned to Thea, who only had a slight bruise on her face that Isabel knew could be covered up with the proper application of makeup. She tried to disguise her voice as best as she could before she said: "Check on Connor while I pump Miss Maybridge here for information."

Thea nodded her head, and after one last glare at Maybridge, complied with her trainer's request and went to check on her nephew and retrieve him from the car. This left Isabel free to employ some of her more extreme interrogation techniques, if necessary. Fortunately, that would not be the case, since Connor's former sitter starting singing like a canary before Isabel could even lay a hand on the nerve in Maybridge's neck she had been about to apply pressure to.

The older woman gave a disturbed laugh that Isabel found slightly unsettling before she spoke. "That's not necessary, Miss Rochev! I'll talk! I've been dying to tell you what I think of you for two years!"

Isabel's eyes widened slightly, and she dropped all pretense of disguising her voice. "How do you know who I am?"

The older woman laughed again. "My employer knows who you, and all of your other masked friends are, Isabel! That's why he hired me to kidnap the brat so that I could lure all of you to a place of his choosing so that I could kill you!"

Maybridge scowled at Isabel. "But I had my own reasons for wanting to lure you to the Fishenger Son's warehouse by the docks, which my employer filled with explosives that we were going to use to kill the Arrow and all of his friends…"

Isabel interrupted the rant of the apparently crazy woman in front of her. "Why are you telling me all of this!? Who is your employer!? And what do you have against the Arrow?!"

Maybridge shrugged. "My employer has an ax to grind against the Arrow, Miss Rochev, not me! I have no idea who he is, since he always wears a ski mask and uses a voice-changer when I meet with him, even when he trained me to fight, and I have no idea why he hates the Arrow! I also don't care! My vendetta is with you, Miss Rochev! You and the Queen family! And I'm only telling you any of this because plan A failed, although I'm sure my employer will find another way to kill you, your friends, and the Queen family!"

Isabel shrugged and kept a stoic look on her face, even under her mask, even though she was privately worried about why it was taking so long for Thea to wake Connor up. However, since the brunette knew, based upon the steady heart rate of the woman in front of her, that Connor's kidnapper was telling the truth, she resumed her interrogation and asked: "Why do all of this, though! What do you have against me and the Queen family?! I want answers, and I want them now!"

"I have one simple thing against you and the Queens, Miss Rochev…Everything!" Maybridge spat out. "My real name is Mary Glecker, and the lot of you ruined my life and destroyed everything I care about!"

The mad woman raised up her ring finger at Isabel. "First, seven years ago, Oliver Queen seduced me, told me he loved me, and I was stupid enough to believe him! I even left my fiancée, Kevin, for him! The next day, when I told your boyfriend that I had given up Kevin to be with him, do you know what he said? 'I'm sorry, I thought you knew that was just pillow-talk, Mary! I'm not looking for anything serious right now.' "

Isabel shrugged nonchalantly as she continued to glare at the woman in front of her. "Boo fucking hoo! I'll admit that sounds pretty terrible, and I believe that happened, but that doesn't give you the right to…."

But Mary wouldn't even let Isabel finish that sentence, as she put her ring finger down, then raised up her middle finger as she spoke. "Second, you led a hostile takeover on behalf of Stellmoor International that bought out the company my brother worked at, and laid off all of its workers! My brother lost his job, and a six-figure salary, because of you!"

Isabel continued to glare at Mary, even though, internally, she felt a bit more sympathetic to the older woman's plight. But not enough to tell the crazy woman who had kidnapped Connor that. "Whatever, you crazy bitch! None of this justifies you kidnapping a child and threatening his life! And if you did your homework, you would know that I have been hiring as many of the workers my former employer laid off as I can, and giving them positions at Queen Consolidated lately! I'm sure we can find your brother a job there. But as for you, you will punished for what you've done!"

Mary sneered at Isabel. "Do you think I care about being punished? Or about anything you have to say, Miss Rochev?! You aren't listening to me! My life is already ruined, and not you, nor anybody else can fix it! And by the way, you can take your job and shove it, Isabel! It won't bring back my brother from the dead after he and his family died in a one-room apartment in the Glades during the Undertaking! An Undertaking that the family you are living with helped bankroll! My employer is going to kill all of you and…"

Isabel casually punched Mary in the head, rendering her unconscious, since the woman was becoming hysterical and had started trying to untie her bonds. Besides, the crazy lady had apparently already told Isabel everything she knew, and confirmed her worst fear…whomever had been behind Connor's kidnapping was a powerful man with access to a lot of information. After all, he (for Isabel already had a sneaking suspicion who the puppet-master was) knew at least some of the people on team Arrow's roster, and he had found the one person in Starling City who seemed to have the most reason to hate both the Queen family and herself.

Isabel was still thinking about the implications of this, and wrestling with her own guilt over her part in the apparent tragedy that Mary's life had become, when Thea exited Mary's car with a worried look on her face. "Connor's still unconscious and I don't know whether I should try to wake him up because I don't know what exactly Mary did to him!"

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Connor's going to be fine, and I'm sure it's perfectly safe to wake him up! Just watch!"

The older brunette then proceeded to stand beside Connor and the now opened passenger side door of the car he was occupying, before gently shaking Connor's shoulder with one hand. At first, Isabel did this without speaking, but when the blonde boy didn't respond to this treatment, the Midnight Sentinel started talking to Oliver's son. "Connor, it's time for you to wake up now!"

When Connor still wouldn't stir, Isabel began to experience a fear that was almost, but not quite, panic. This fear caused Isabel to raise her voice. "I said wake up, Connor! The bad lady's been dealt with and you're safe now, but your family and I need you to wake up right this second!"

Finally, much to Isabel's relief, Connor began to stir, but a different kind of fear settled in her stomach because of what the little boy said next. "Okay, okay, I'll wake up! But what's going on Isabel, and why are you wearing that costume! The last thing I remember was playing with one of my toys and a hankie coming over my face and…."

Connor's gray eyes widened at the same time Isabel's did. Far too late, Isabel realized that, in her fear for Connor's safety, and her haste to wake her boyfriend's son up, she had completely forgotten to disguise her voice while she was waking up the Arrow's child. Before the Midnight Sentinel could think of a lie to throw Connor of her secret identity, Connor's words interrupted her thought processes and rendered them useless. "Wait a second, you must have saved me from something, because I know that costume from the papers my grandma reads that you and the Arrow are in all the time! And I know your voice, Isabel! That must mean…."

Connor beamed as hard as a kid opening his presents…well, tomorrow morning, would, as he practically squealed in excitement. "That you're the Midnight Sentinel! And that must mean my daddy's the Arrow, right?! Because all of the papers and Arrow blogs that aunt Thea reads to me say that you and the Arrow are really close and….this is so cool!"

Isabel sighed as Connor pumped both of his fists up in the air dramatically. Damn. The hazel-eyed woman knew Connor was a smart kid, but still…that had been quick. Not knowing what lie to tell to throw Connor off the truth she already knew, and with part of her feeling like Connor deserved to know the truth about his father and her being vigilantes, Isabel just nodded as she mentally noted, but otherwise completely ignored, the occupants of the two vehicles that had just pulled up next to Mary's car. "Yes, Connor, you figured it out. Your father over there…."

Isabel pointed over her shoulder at the green-clad man who had just arrived, and who was now standing only several feet behind her. "Is the Arrow, and I'm the Midnight Sentinel."

The blue and white clad vigilante nodded at the Arrow, and gave her boyfriend a look signifying that she would explain why she was saying all this later. And Isabel gave a sigh of relief when Oliver gave her an understanding nod, along with a gentle, bur firm look that she knew meant she and her boyfriend would talk about this later. But right now, the Arrow had more important things to worry about as he looked at his son. "Are you okay, Connor?!"

Connor smiled. "I'm great dad! I didn't know that you and Isabel were super-heroes... that is so cool! Is there any other cool hero stuff that I should know about?!"

Thea, evidently following Isabel's lead, turned off her voice-changer and spoke to Connor. "I'm your aunt Thea! I don't have a hero name yet though, since I haven't quite earned that title yet, but I was thinking of going with something cool like…."

Oliver and Isabel both silenced Thea as they glared at her, for different reasons, and the former sent a look at his girlfriend indicating he and Isabel definitely needed to talk about this real soon, before yet another party who had just arrived on the road that Mary's car was stalled on, sighed and said in an exasperated voice. "Oh, fine then! Since everybody is just spilling vigilante secrets tonight, and since Connor is bound to link me to Thea and Oliver sooner or later…I'll spill to. I'm Roy Harper…Thea's…"

"Boyfriend!" Connor interrupted in an excited voice that was so loud everyone around him was glad this whole affair was taking place on a deserted road. "You and my dad taught me to play football on the front lawn together, of course I remember you! OMG! This is amazing, I can't believe that…"

The rest of the group mentally tuned out the rest of Connor's excited rant as the Canary pulled up to the gathering of heroes in her own motorbike. With the exception of Sara, who had been the last person who had been able to respond to Felicity's SOS concerning Connor, and who therefore, had no clue how much Connor knew, all of the adults next to Mary's car where wondering the same thing: 'How where they going to convince Connor to stay quiet concerning Team Arrow's secret identities?'

But the two hooded individuals who had just arrived in the area, and who were now hiding in a cluster of trees next to the road were wondering something different as they noted the large number of opponents in front of them. The question on their minds was: 'Now that our first plan has failed, how will we make the Arrow and everyone he loves pay, and then advance the rest of our plans, now?'

* * *

Within two hours, the whole ordeal was over. Responding to his daughter's call, newly appointed Captain Lance, who had disbanded the anti-vigilante task force almost a week ago, had personally come to pick Mary Glecker up to haul her to jail. Much to Team Arrow's relief, the insane women had, so far, refused to speak to anyone, even a lawyer, so far, and she seemed to have no interest in spilling the identities of the Arrow or his friends out to the police or general public.

Connor also played his part well, for the boy had been told by both Oliver and Isabel that it was paramount that he keep Team Arrow's identities (the one the young boy knew about, anyway) secret. Therefore, after being assured that it was okay for him to lie, just this once, the young boy did as his father had told him to do, telling Captain Lance that he didn't remember anything after being woken up from his abduction besides the eldest Lance's cop car arriving at the crime scene, while several masked people were driving off in their own vehicles, after "the mean lady" who had kidnapped him had already been knocked out. After that short statement, which had included several times questioning the captain in a whiny voice (which the tired child only half-way had to fake): "Can I go home now?" Connor Hawke was allowed to return to the Queen mansion. Meanwhile, a bomb squad was sent to the warehouse that Sara tipped the captain off about, and the team was easily able to disable the makeshift explosives that had been meant to kill Team Arrow.

Meanwhile, after all the other heroes had gone home, Isabel and Oliver had a long conversation in the Arrow cave about what Mary had done, the woman's motivations for kidnapping Connor, who her employer was, and finally, the subject of Isabel training Thea to be a vigilante. Interestingly, the last subject was of little concern to Oliver at the moment.

The emerald archer sighed. "I knew you were training Thea, Isabel. And it wasn't a long logic leap to come to the conclusion that she would want to do what you and I do. My sister has never been one to stand on the side-lines after all, and I knew she would want to join Team Arrow eventually. And although I wish you had told me that she told you about her desire to join the team….I'm glad that it's you who are training her to do so. I trust you. I know that you will keep my little sister safe."

Isabel nodded seriously. "I will. I promise that I won't let harm to come to you, Thea, or anybody else in your family! And I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was training Thea to be a hero, but I'm glad you trust me to do that. However …."

The brunette sighed. "We have bigger problems at the moment. Like Mary Glecker! Even if neither she nor Connor spills our secrets to the world, we still don't know for sure who her employer is, or when he'll strike next!"

Oliver nodded. "No, we don't. I suspect this is Malcolm Merlyn's handiwork, but I'm not certain of that yet. You and I have both made a lot of enemies over the years after all."

Isabel just nodded to that statement before Oliver added. "But whoever our enemy is, whenever they strike next… with all of our combined training….I'm confident that Team Arrow will be able to neutralize the threat when the time comes."

Isabel nodded again, although she noted that Oliver didn't sound any more confident that team Arrow was ready for anything than she was before she replied. "I'm sure you're right. However, I can't help but think that…."

Isabel looked away for several seconds and blinked many times to keep the moisture building up in her eyes from becoming tears as she continued her thought. "All of this! Everything that happened tonight, is my fault! Mary wouldn't have had a reason to go after your family, or to kidnap Connor, if it weren't for me! If I hadn't bought off her brother's company and laid him off when I was working for Slade…"

But Oliver wouldn't even let Isabel finish that thought. "No. We can't start thinking like that. We can't keep beating ourselves up, over and over again, for the same mistakes of the past. Down that path lies madness. Believe me, I would know."

Isabel smirked slightly, although her eyes still seemed uncertain. "Yes. You certainly would. When I first met you, you were the most brooding person that I knew…"

Oliver smiled. "Well, there's this one guy I know in Gotham City that has even me beat in the brooding department. But yes, I used to constantly agonize over my past mistakes. My past failures of both character and ability. Never forgiving myself. Never letting myself off the hook for any of the bad I've done, no matter how much good I accomplished as a co-CEO or as the Arrow. And then you came along. You saw me. Really saw me. For who I was, darkness and all. But you loved me anyway. You looked at me and saw someone worthy of love, worthy of forgiveness, despite all the bad I've done."

Oliver looked pointedly at Isabel. "You made me see that I was still someone worthy of love, worthy of forgiveness, despite my past. And when I look at you, I see someone worthy of the same things. And I'm not saying we can forget what we've done. I, for one, can't believe I didn't recognize Mary, despite all the years it's been since I've last saw her, just because she was wearing colored contact and had her hair dyed. She used to have red hair and green eyes, not that it matters."

The Arrow shook his head. " But my point is, I'm partially responsible for what happened to her too, but I know I can't hold myself responsible for how Mary reacted to what I did to her, even if I what I did to her back then was pretty scummy."

Isabel shook her head too. "That's easy for you to say, Oliver! You just broke that woman's heart, but I broke apart her family! If I hadn't fired her brother, his family wouldn't have been in the Glades and…"

Oliver's face went stoic and his voice became serious as he interrupted his girlfriend. "Now you listen to me. Nobody is responsible for what happened in the Glades except for Malcolm Merlyn, you got that?! It took me many months to finally stop blaming myself for what happened that night, Isabel, and I'm not about to let you go down that road of self-blame too! All you did to that family was fire one man, but if it weren't for Malcolm, all of Mary's family members would still be alive, and thanks to **your** recent efforts, her brother would probably have a job at Queen Consolidated right now if it weren't for the Dark Archer! So by and large, none of this, not what Mary did, nor what happened to her family, is your fault **!** And as far as your small contribution to that family's tragic situations goes…"

Oliver shrugged. "You are going to have to forgive yourself for that eventually. You taught me that. That's the only way that you, and me, and the rest of Team Arrow can do what we do and stay sane. We do as much good as we can. We learn from our mistakes, and we correct as many of them as we can. Then we move on. And if we're lucky, in the end, we all will have done more good than harm. And I believe that same principle applies here."

The Arrow sighed. "It took me a long time to forgive myself for all the terrible things I did to women before the island. Years actually. But eventually, I did. And sooner or later, Isabel, you are going to have to forgive yourself for the mistakes of your past too. Because I already have."

Isabel smiled. She wasn't sure if she could do as Oliver asked just yet, but she could certainly try, and her boyfriend's words did make her feel better. "Thank you, Oliver. I will try to forgive myself, just like I forgave you for some of your past misdeeds, and just like you forgave me for…well, pretty much every bad thing I've ever done. But for now…let's go home."

* * *

…Sometime later…

Christmas Eve was at once a more somber, and yet also more joyous, an affair than it had been for the past six years. One the one hand, Connor's kidnapping had put the entire Queen household on their guard, and Moira had doubled the mansion's security detail for the holiday season. But on the other hand, for the very first time since the Queen's Gambit, there was real joy inside the Queen mansion around Christmastime.

This joy was present in the Queen household for a number of reasons. First and foremost, Connor's presence had made Isabel and the Queen family bend over backwards to make sure that Oliver's son would have the best Christmas ever now that he was living with family at the Queen mansion. But the fact that there weren't any major secrets, like the Undertaking, or Oliver's identity as the Arrow, which the members of the Queen family were keeping from each other also made a huge difference.

Furthermore, this Christmas was also very special for Isabel, since this was pretty much the first time since she was twelve that she wouldn't be spending Christmas alone (all but her first foster family had pretty much ignored her most of the time, even during the holidays.). And everyone in the Queen family had been very accommodating concerning making Miss Rochev feel at home ever since she had moved into the mansion. Even Moira had made an effort to make Isabel feel welcome in her home, a fact which was, in no small part, the result of Oliver telling his mother that Isabel was used to being alone for Christmas, and that he wanted to made this Christmas a nice holiday for his girlfriend as well as his son. Moira had even gone so far as to buy Isabel a gift for the holiday. And even though the small silver bracelet that the middle aged woman would give her the next day wasn't as flashy as the diamond necklace Isabel had bought the Queen matriarch, half as a peace offering, and half a token of gratitude for letting her stay in the Queen mansion for a while, Miss Rochev would still express a very sincere thank you to her boyfriend's mother to the gift the next morning.

Three of the gifts that were exchanged that night were fairly forgettable….at least, by the Queen family's standards. Thea got yet another new car. And Oliver…Oliver got a practical item. Thea, partly as a joke, gave Oliver a helmet for his motorcycle. Moira was appreciative of the diamond necklace that Isabel had given her in appreciation for everything the Queen matriarch had done for Isabel since inviting the brunette into her home, but, as was usually the case when the Queen matriarch expressed appreciation to another, her polite "Thank you." was a fairly subdued response. However, two of the gifts, both of which were from Oliver Queen, that were opened that night left quite an impression.

The first truly memorable gift opened that night was a necklace, which had an arrowhead made out of pure emerald which Oliver was quick to point out he had made it himself, after many failed attempts at shaping the somewhat brittle mineral. This gift, of course, went to Isabel, and Oliver explained that he figured that the woman who guarded the Arrow so carefully on a daily basis deserved a gift that at once acknowledged and thanked the Midnight Sentinel's for her efforts in doing just that. After Oliver put the necklace around her neck, Isabel thanked her boyfriend with a brief kiss and a look that promised her boyfriend much more later than night once she and Oliver could have some alone time.

It just so happened that the gift that Connor choose to open that night was also from Oliver. The blonde boy's father had gotten his son some new watchband segments for the watch that had been passed down to the six-year old boy, through Oliver, from his grandfather, Robert Queen. Oliver explained that he noticed that, although Robert's watch was still working years after the Queen patriarch had bought it, just as the quality time-piece had been designed to do, some of the watchband's segments were dented, and, Oliver said with a smile. "I can't have my son, the grandson of the man who bought that watch, running around with ratty watch segments, now can I!?"

Connor, showing a maturity beyond his years, seemed to understand the importance of anything connected to his grandfather's watch, even though he found it hard to get excited about a jewelry accessory. But he still politely thanked his dad for the gift. Then sheepishly told his father he did not know how to put the new watch segments on. Therefore, Oliver offered to take his son to the Queen mansion's workshop and help Connor install the new watchbands as the other occupants of the mansion retired to their quarters for the night.

Isabel knew she shouldn't, but her concern for Oliver and Connor's safety, especially after the events of earlier that night, eventually won out over her respect for the father and son's privacy, and she decided to use her superior hearing to keep track of her boyfriend and his son while they were alone in another section of the house. And by making that choice she happened to eavesdrop on an interesting conversation between Oliver and Connor.

The first thing Isabel heard from the workshop was Connor's little voice asking his father a question. "Dad, I never met Grandpa Robert. I've seen pictures of him, but I don't really know what he was like. And… some of the rich kids grandma has been making me hang out with said he wasn't nice, that he laid off a lot of his workers to save a buck, and even that he didn't treat grandma very well. But then aunt Thea says he was a great dad. And… I don't know who's right. But I guess when I look at this watch I wonder…I don't know. I forgot exactly what I was going to ask. Forget I said anything, dad."

There was a long silence after Connor spoke, during which time Oliver continued installing the new watch segment into the watch that now belonged to Connor, but both Connor and Isabel (who had now retired to her and Oliver's room) were hanging on Oliver's every word when he finally spoke in a voice that Isabel could tell indicated that her boyfriend was choking back tears. "Connor. The thing you have to understand about that….all you really need to know is…your grandfather made mistakes, but everybody makes mistakes…."

"Like that time I put my shirt on backwards a few days ago?" Connor inquired in an innocent, but inquisitive voice.

Oliver laughed. "Sure. Sometimes things like that. And sometimes more important things…."

Oliver coughed awkwardly. "But the important thing for you to remember, Connor, and I don't want you spreading this around to all of your friends, because this is family business, like me and Isabel's secret identities. However, in the end, your grandfather was hero. And not just because he loved Thea and me, which he did, a lot, and he would have loved you too if he had met you, but also because…"

Isabel heard Oliver take a deep breath. "Because he tried to save a lot of people in this city before he passed away. Then, on his last day on earth, your grandfather saved my life off the coast of the island I was stranded on for a long time. He gave his life for mine. And if your grandfather hadn't done that, I wouldn't have lived long enough to be able to come home. I never would have been able to find out about you or take you home to live with me. That would have been a tragedy. So the next time one of those kids talk bad about grandpa, you just remember what I said, okay?"

Isabel could almost see Connor nodding and smiling with pride as he repeated. "My grandfather was a hero! Thank you for telling me that, dad!"

Oliver quickly responded. "Now, like I said, I don't want you telling everybody about what happened…"

Isabel, who was now holding back tears, decided she had eavesdropped enough on what should have been a private conversation between father and son, stopped listening in on said conversation. But the words she had heard, especially about Robert Queen's last days on earth, were still ringing in her head, even as she was trying to forget them. Without intending to, Oliver had given Isabel a lot to think about.

* * *

….hours later…

Isabel had been able to distract herself from her thoughts about Oliver and Connor's conversation for a long time by thinking about other serious matters, such as Connor's abduction just hours earlier, just who was behind it, and, most important of all, where Malcolm Merlyn was. But she still wasn't able to sleep. Eventually, after several hours of tossing and turning in the bed she shared with Oliver, her thoughts about that conversation came back to her, and the brunette gave up trying to sleep in favor of putting on a robe and slipping out to the nearest balcony that could be accessed from the guest room, trying not to wake up the man she loved as she did so.

But of course, since Oliver was a light sleeper anyway, Isabel's efforts were futile, and she soon found herself being joined on the balcony by Oliver, who was wearing a men's robe. "What are you doing out here so late, Isabel? Can't sleep?"

Oliver shook his head, seemingly chastising himself for the stupid question, but Isabel took her boyfriend's gesture of caring for what it was and did not offer a snarky response to Oliver's words. "No. Actually, I have a confession to make. I sort of eavesdropped on the conversation you had with Connor earlier tonight…about his grandfather. I know I shouldn't have, but I was just trying to keep tabs on you two to make sure you were safe. Then, after I realized I was listening to a conversation I shouldn't be hearing, I knew I should have stopped listening. But what you had to say sounded so important, like you had so much emotional investment in what you were saying that…I felt like I couldn't help myself. Like I couldn't stop listening. I'm sorry, Oliver."

Oliver hesitated several seconds before speaking "You weren't supposed to hear that but…Thank you for telling me. And…since I know you were just trying to keep us safe when you were eavesdropping, and considering the subject matter of that conversation with my son, I guess I can forgive you for listening in…this time. But please don't eavesdrop on one of my conversations again."

Isabel nodded, then shook her head. "Thank you. I promise I won't do it again.

Oliver just nodded with a stoic expression on his face that frightened Isabel because she couldn't read it at all. "What did you hear me say, exactly?"

Isabel shrugged. "Most of that conversation, I think. Enough to hear you tell Connor that Ro…his grandfather, died saving you."

Oliver nodded. He had not, and would never, elaborate on that story…for Connor, Isabel, or anybody else. The Arrow did not think that anybody who had any sort of emotional investment in Robert Queen would want to know that the Queen patriarch had killed himself to save him, In fact, Oliver had not planned on telling anyone that his father had died saving his life…but when his son had expressed doubts about his own grandfather's character…that had been too much for the Arrow, who was only alive because of Robert Queen, to take, so he had decided to tell Connor what his grandfather had done to save thousands of people…and Oliver himself. But when he had told Connor all of that, he had never imagined that Isabel would hear that conversation with his son.

Oliver cleared his throat. "Oh. Like I said, I didn't want you to hear that. Not because I didn't think you deserved to know or anything, but…I usually don't tell that story to anyone. Even my mom and sister don't know what happened to my father off of the coast of the island, and I would rather not go into specifics on what, exactly occurred back then, but…now you know that my father, Robert Queen, died saving me. So there you go…."

Oliver's words had a certain awkwardness to them, as if he didn't know what to say next, and it took Isabel several seconds to realize why that was, even after she picked up on her boyfriend's slightly erratic heartbeat. "You're afraid. But why…"

Isabel's eyes widened slightly as she realized the truth. "You are worried about how I will react to knowing what happened…all those years ago, aren't you?"

Oliver nodded slowly. "I guess so. I mean, we don't talk about it much, for good reason, but you had a…history with my father before, and I was afraid if you knew how he died…."

"That I would blame you for Robert's death?" Isabel shook her head. "No. I don't blame you! The only person who is responsible for Robert's death is Malcolm Merlyn, and he will pay for everything he has done!"

The hazel-eyed woman sighed. "I'll admit, there was a time when I would have blamed you….when I did blame you, for Robert's death. But that already feels like a lifetime ago. And like I said before…"

Isabel awkwardly lifted up Oliver's head, which was currently staring at his feet. "You are the only man I have ever truly fallen in fell in love with, I've never loved anyone, without exception, the way that I love you. I see that now. But, that being said…."

Isabel withdrew her hand from Oliver's head, and this time, it was the brunette's hazel eyes that wouldn't meet the blonde man's hazel ones. "Robert was kind to me during a time when no one else was. That was probably the reason for…"

Isabel shook her head as she continued looking down in shame, until Oliver raised her head up with his hand. "We've been over that. I've forgiven you. It's done. We don't need to talk about that again, and you don't need to keep beating yourself up for one bad choice you and my father made a long time ago."

Isabel nodded as Oliver withdrew his hand. "You're right. But, in any case, I'm actually glad to know what really happened to your father. That his death, as well as his life, meant something. That he died for a more than a sufficiently noble cause. Because if he saved your life off of the coast of that island….that's pretty damn important, Oliver! And not just because of the thousands, potentially millions, of lives you've saved since then! But because you have people that love you whose lives would be so much poorer if you were gone. Like Moira, Thea, Connor..."

Isabel looked meaningfully at Oliver. "And me. I love you, Oliver Queen! You have done so much for me, saved me in so many ways, and given me so much. You have done more for me then I could ever repay you for, and my life would be just so much less, without you in it! I'm lucky to have you in my life."

Oliver chuckled. "I love you too, Isabel. But it's funny, because I thought I was the lucky one to have you in my life, after everything you've done for me and my family! But thank you for…saying all that. It means a lot, considering that I have been trying to honor my father's memory, to make sure that he died for a good enough reason, every day since I got back from the island! I'm glad you think that I'm doing his memory justice."

Isabel smiled. "You are. That and so much more. But let's not talk about this anymore. I'm tired now, and I think that's it's time for us to go back to bed."

Oliver yawned. "That sounds like a good idea, Isabel!"

Minutes later, Oliver and Isabel were back under the covers of the bed they shared together. With one last yawn before falling asleep, Isabel spoke. "Merry Christmas, Oliver!"

Oliver smiled. "Merry Christmas, Isabel!"

With those words spoken, the couple soon drifted off into a pleasant sleep. Even though the Arrow and the Midnight Sentinel still had a lot to worry about, including the location of the Dark Archer, and whomever was behind Connor's abduction, their spirits were somehow more at peace after the conversation the two heroes had shared together. So the two heroes' dreams were pleasant ones that night.

Perhaps that would not have been the case if Oliver and Isabel had known about the peril that would await them, and everybody they care about, the very next day….

 **AN: Hello, readers! I would once again like to thank all of my readers and reviewers, including (in no particular order)** **Troll99, Pootamis, Phillipe363** **, and** highlander348. **Thank you all for support and input for my story! Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out here, by the way, but I hope that you enjoy this extra-long chapter as my way of saying thank you for your patience! But please, let me know what you really thought of this chapter in your reviews!**

 **By the way, if any of your are worried about the number of Robert and/or Connor centric scenes in this chapter, rest assured that there will be less emphasis on Connor's character, and far less focus on Robert Queen (who will be mentioned only briefly from time to time from now on, I promise) in the next chapter. Unfortunately, however, I felt that Isabel learning about how Robert Queen really died would be somewhat inevitable in the universe my story takes place in, and that thorny issue would need to be addressed in my story soon or later. So I went ahead and took care of that issue (which should never be mentioned again) in this chapter. Still, I hope that this chapter wasn't too boring and/or full of drama for any of my readers as a result. However, now the characters in AHFAQ can move on to more important things….like taking down Malcolm Merlyn and the other impending threats to the Queen family!**

 **And once again, I would like to send a very special thank you to my beta-reader, without whom this story would be more confusing (to read) then a penguin at the North Pole. Thank you so much for helping me make this story better than I could ever have made it on my own!**

 **Until next time, I am…**

 **-supercode**


	8. Christmas Mourning

**AN: Just a small warning here that, although this chapter contains the usual family fluff contained in a Christmas tale, it will also have a bit more blood and violence than some of my previous chapters, although this is all done in service of the plot. I just thought I would give all of you a heads up on this fact ahead of time,**

Christmas morning was a joyous, if relatively uneventful, time for everyone in the Queen mansion. For the first time in years, there was real joy in the large house at Christmas, and every occupant in the mansion appreciated having their loved ones close by and happy that morning as everyone ate breakfast, then opened presents under the large tree in the living room, which the household staff had brought in and decorated. But nobody appreciated that morning more than Connor, who had never, to his recollection, gotten to spend Christmas with any of his family members before. However, Isabel, who hadn't had anything resembling a loving family since she was 12, was a close second in her appreciation of the holiday, and the woman felt thankful that she was able to spend that Christmas with Oliver, Connor, and her new friend Thea, instead of having to be alone again on December 25th, or working alone as she had done for every prior Christmas in recent memory.

However, despite the joyous feelings that were present in the Queen mansion that Christmas morning, almost all of the presents that were opened during that time paled in comparison to the two gifts that Oliver had given on the previous day to Connor and Isabel, respectfully. Because almost all the presents that were opened that morning fell into the categories of toys (for Connor), electronic devices, moderately expensive jewelry, practical items like kitchenware, or decorative items that Oliver and Isabel could use in their new home where they would live with Connor once they found a new place after the holidays. Even Connor's gifts mainly fell into these categories, since the young boy bought most of his gifts with his (substantial) allowance based upon the suggestions of Isabel and some of his family members. However, the little boy's hand drawn Christmas card was a little more memorable. The six year-old's Christmas card included a simple thank you to his family for everything they had given him, as well as a crude, stick figure drawing of Connor, Oliver, Thea, Moira, and (to Moira's private chagrin) Isabel all holding hands under a caption the young boy made in red and green which read: Me and my family at Christmas!

But there were two other very important exceptions to these materialistic gift-giving trends in the Queen mansion that Christmas, and both of those special gifts were given by Isabel, although they had both been the result of Isabel's collaborating with others. The first gift, which Isabel explained as Oliver Queen opened his present from his girlfriend, had been compiled with the help of Connor, Thea and Moira Queen (Oliver's relatives just grinned silently when this fact was mentioned). The Arrow was initially confused what kind of present Isabel would need his sister's help to make for him, until the last of the present's wrapping fell away to reveal a large book-like object which was emblazoned with the Queen family's insignia. Curious, Oliver opened the large white book open to the first page, only to find several photos in which both Connor and he had been present, seemingly staring right at him.

Oliver quickly looked at all the pictures of himself and his son on the first page of what was obviously a photo album, quickly memorizing every detail of each photo as best as he could, before he turned the page and silently did the same thing to the second batch of photos, all of which, in accordance to what Oliver now recognized was the theme of the album, featured himself and his son. Oliver then employed this same, silent, methodical (but far from emotionally detached) analysis of each page in this fashion, until he reached the last photo of him and his son together at an amusement park in front of one of the few rides that Olive and Connor had been able to ride together that day, although the Arrow noted there were many more empty sleeves left that Oliver would later be able to fill with more photos on the many remaining blank pages of the photo album. The archer also noted, before he closed the book, that, while many of the photos had Thea or Moira in the pictures as well, most of the photos seemed to include Isabel somewhere in the shot.

Isabel had then awkwardly added. "I just thought you would like to have a photo collection of moments you and your son have spent together since he came into our lives. But I didn't have many of the large number of photos you have been taking with Connor lately, so I needed to ask your sister and mother to supply some of the photos you sent to the two of them via e-mail, and I've already told them how much I appreciate their help. However, you should know that it was Connor himself who choose which photos of the two of you would be put in the album before you choose to add more. So if you like it, you really should thank your family…as well as me."

Oliver looked up with a smile on his face. "I love it! Thank you….Thank all of you very much for this great gift! And thank you for thinking to make this for me, Isabel! I really do appreciate it and will be sure to add more to memories to this album in the future!" The Emerald Archer then proceeded to hug Isabel and all of his family members briefly, although he did so a little longer with Isabel and Connor, the last of which he quickly complimented on his choice of photos for the album.

Several minutes later, it was time for Connor to open up another special gift, a gift which Oliver and Isabel had collaborated to make for the Arrow's son. Like his father, Connor received a photo album, but this, slightly smaller album had a large insignia made of gold, melded into the shape of a hawk, right on its front cover. When Connor looked up inquisitively at his dad and Isabel, Oliver had sighed and said: "You pointed out to me recently that you don't remember much about your mother, Sandra Hawke, since you were so young when she…passed. And I was trying to think of a way to help you still feel connected to her. When I asked Isabel about that, she suggested that I make a photo-album of pictures you…inherited from your mom that I have been looking after since I brought you home. Isabel also helped design the album itself and arrange the photos inside. There aren't many, because your mom had no living family members to ask, and there weren't that many photos of her in the small apartment that Sandra was raising you in, but…you are now holding every photo of your mother that I could find."

Connor had just nodded seriously, unsure of what to say, as he opened the small album and looked through the 23 pictures of his mother, the blurry faced woman that had been in many of his dreams. Sadly, there were only a few photos of the woman when she had been a child, sometimes alongside two kindly older people that Connor was smart enough to figure out had probably been his maternal grandparents. Most of the photos had obviously been taken when Sandra had been pregnant with Connor (the woman's somewhat enlarged belly, juxtaposed with a large smile on her face, in some photos gave this way), or after her and Oliver's child had been born, since the last group of pictures showed Sandra with the same smile on her faced as before while she was holding her infant son.

The next several minutes were spent in awkward silence, as Connor studied every photograph of his mother carefully before he closed the album and started to cry a little as he spoke. "That's her. That's my mom. I've tried to remember what she looked like so many times before…I was way off. But I'm glad I know now, what my mom looked like. Thank you dad! Thank you, Isabel!"

Connor had then run up to both Oliver and Isabel and hugged them for several seconds each, as he had done several times in the past, with one crucial difference which no one but Connor himself noticed. In the past, he would always hug his dad just a little longer than his hugs with Isabel would last, but for the first time, Connor hugged Isabel exactly as long as he had hugged his dad. After Connor dried his eyes with a handkerchief his grandmother gave him, Thea and Moira also chose to hug Connor, and the latter party softly spoke to her grandson. "I didn't know your mother very well, but from what I see in those pictures, and the fact that she left everything she owned to you, your mommy loved you very much!"

Connor drew himself away from his grandmother's hug and dried his eyes one last time. "Yeah. I guess she really did. And I didn't really know her but…I guess I love her too. But at least I still have the rest of my family right here now!"

Everyone in the Queen Mansion quickly assented to the fact that this was the case, and before long, the somber mood that had fallen upon the Queen Mansion had vanished, and, after all the other presents were opened, the day's festivities proceeded as planned until dinner time. Moira, Oliver and Thea divided their time between spending time with their significant others (Roy and Walter both arrived at the Queen mansion shortly after all the opened present were sorted and the wrapping thrown away), and getting things ready for Christmas dinner (with Thea and Moira arranging seating and preparing the dining room for the meal, while Isabel, Oliver, and Connor all helped the kitchen staff prepare the food, although Connor took a break to play with some of his new toys in his room after he got bored).

The more nervous than usual kitchen staff shooed Oliver and Isabel almost an hour before dinner time arrived, but everyone was able to get seated soon enough at the table which was now covered in cutlery, dishes, napkins, and a veritable feast of food items (the last of which caused Oliver to think about how sad it was that most of this food would probably be thrown away after tonight, even though he would have killed for even 1/10 of this amount of food on the island) such as turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and other dishes. Before anybody could start eating, however, Moira decided to make a toast from her position at the head of the table, although the Queen matriarch mentally noted how odd it was that, other than Connor, Isabel was the only person who did not have an alcoholic beverage in front of her at the moment, even though one had been offered to her by one of the kitchen staff members. "Back before the great tragedy that beset this family with the wreck of the Queen's Gambit, the Queen family had a custom of the head of the family giving a toast before Christmas dinner. A custom that has been neglected, just like Christmas itself, since then in this house. Because, for the Queens, Christmas is all about spending time with family."

Moira sighed and shot a serious, but caring look at Oliver. "But until recently, after that great tragedy, our family had been broken…"

Moira then briefly shot a sad look at Connor. "And incomplete."

"However…" Moira smiled at Oliver and Connor. "Recent events have changed all that. My son has finally come home to be with his family, not just in body, but also in his heart. And my newly discovered grandson has also finally come home to be reunited with his father, and spend time with the rest of his family!"

Moira then looked around the room, at everyone else that was seated at the table, including Roy, Walter, and even Isabel before she added. "And what's more, the Queen family has been fortunate enough to have close friends and loved ones gathered here, to share this day with us. And I am thankful for how everyone at this table has contributed to my family's life and happiness."

Moira Queen raised her wine glass, and everyone else did the same (although both Connor and Isabel's glasses were filled with grape juice) then spoke. "To friends and family!"

After everyone drank to that, Oliver started to make a compliment on his mom's short, simple, yet poignant speech, when something unexpected happened. All around the archer, people started slumping down and falling asleep in their chairs. One by one, Moira, Walter, Roy and Thea all wordlessly nodded off within seconds of Moira's toast. Thankfully, all of those individuals happened to lean backward, allowing their heads and bodies to recline in their chairs as they fell asleep, instead of forward, which might have caused some of the individuals in the room to crash their heads on the floor or the table and injure themselves.

Connor, Isabel, and Oliver all bore witness to this strange spectacle, which included Moira snoring, until two black clad, hooded individuals entered the room. Although both of the intruders' faces were too obscured for their faces to be seen, Oliver instantly recognized the voice of the man who then choose to speak. "Hello, Arrow, Sentinel…"

The hooded man then turned to Connor and spoke in a gentler, slightly less sinister tone of voice. "Connor…"

The blonde man interrupted the hooded gentleman's speech while standing up and glaring at him in hate, even as he stealthily pushed a special button on his cellphone in his side pocket. "Leave my son alone, Malcolm! Whatever twisted vendetta you may have with me, he's not part of this!"

Oliver's hate-filled glance towards the Dark archer was matched by Isabel's as she realized who one of the intruders to the Queen mansion was, and the Midnight Sentinel also stood up while making a point to grab a steak knife from the dinner table and point at Merlyn. This gesture simply caused Malcolm to laugh, a hollow sound which caused Connor to hide behind his father in fear, before he spoke. "Quite true. Mary never understood that, I'm afraid. She took things too far when she decided she would destroy Connor in that warehouse along with your precious 'Team Arrow.' I would not have allowed that, of course, and I would have stopped her from detonating the bomb before Connor, or Thea, for that matter were safely out of harm's way. Kidnapping your son was supposed to be a lure to get all the masks in one place, nothing more…"

Isabel and Oliver's glares at Malcolm intensified, but it was the former who spoke next, with rage evident in her voice. "So it was you! You were the one behind Mary kidnapping Connor! And I'm guessing you were also the one responsible for putting my friends and family into a deep sleep, by putting something in their wine glasses, I would guess!"

The Dark Archer nodded in reply. "Yes. And Mary's Intel was very helpful in that second regard, by the way. She found out the codes to your security system, so I could get past that, the usual patrol routes of your security team, so my associate and I could incapacitate them, and even which members of your cooking staff could be bribed or intimidated into putting a sleeping agent into your wine glasses! Granted, it wasn't a perfect plan, since Isabel didn't choose to drink tonight for some reason, and Connor is too young to drink. But that's all right. And don't worry, all your staff have either been sent home, or tied up in the attic now, and none of them know who you are or why I am doing all of this to you. Also, I never intended to put you to sleep, Oliver! I wanted to confront you in person while you were awake!"

"You're a very bad man!' Connor shouted from behind the protection his father's body offered him.

Malcolm shook his head. "No, Connor. I am just a man determined to get his family back, no matter what that costs."

The hooded man turned to Oliver. "I have no vendetta against your son, and he may leave this room now before you, me, Isabel, and my associate all get down to business. He will not be harmed."

Oliver nodded his head and turned to his son. "Connor, go to your room right now!"

The young boy shook his head. "No way, dad! This man wants to hurt you, I can tell, and I'm not going to let him!"

"Do what your father says and go to your room right now, Connor!" Isabel practically growled as she raised her voice to Oliver's son for the very first time, causing the young boy to quickly run out of the dining room and up the stairs towards his room.

Oliver then turned towards Malcolm. "What do you have against my friends and family now, Malcolm? Why are you trying to hurt the people I care about? What the hell do you want?!"

Malcolm shook his head. "You've got this all wrong, Oliver. This isn't about what I want. It's about what I **need**. And that is to get my entire family together again. Rebecca, Tommy, and yes, even your poor, sweet sister, Thea! I'm going to get them back, and you aren't going to stop me!"

This time is was Isabel's turn to speak, although her words came out as more of a yell. "Amazing! You are just as psychotic as you were when you killed Robert, and when you ordered the Undertaking with the honest expectation that doing so would save Starling City! Your wife and son are dead, and your daughter wants nothing to do with you!"

Malcolm laughed again. "You really don't know anything do you, Miss Rochev?! First of all, there are some secrets about the League of Assassins that Sara hasn't told you about yet, like that organization having an…object which has the ability to help people cheat death! An object I will soon have access to if all goes according to plan! Secondly, I don't think you, Queen Consolidate's most famous office whore, has any right to judge me for trying to get my family back!"

Malcolm saw the fury in both Isabel and Oliver's eyes after that last remark, and noticed that the latter party's muscles were tensed up, as if the Arrow were preparing to lunge across the room to kill him. But Malcolm's next words, and their resultant consequences, stopped Oliver from doing so. "And finally, Midnight Sentinel, you don't know your pupil as well as you think!"

On cue, Thea Queen, who had only been pretending to be asleep using meditation techniques Sara had taught her, sprang up from her chair and pointed the gun she had been concealing in her dress right at Isabel's head. "Sorry, Isabel. But you really shouldn't have screwed Robert Queen, and tried to take him away from his family, all those years ago!"

Oliver's eyes widened in horror, although he noticed that his girlfriend seemed unnervingly calm for some reason, not even dropping her knife, as the Arrow stared at his sister. "You don't know what you're doing, Thea! Please put that gun down right now!"

When Thea didn't budge, Oliver added. "Why are you doing this!?"

"Because I told her the truth!" Malcolm announced loudly as he strolled closer to Oliver. "I snuck into this house last night, cornered her and told her about Isabel's affair with your father! And I told her that you knew about that when you started dating Miss Rochev, Oliver! And that was something she…"

"Already knew, you asshole!" Thea then quickly turned her gun towards Malcolm Merlyn, who was now less 4 feet from her gun's barrel, while Isabel let a knowing smirk rise across her face because her pupil had been just as crafty in this situation as the brunette had hoped. This action caused the other hooded individual in the room to start moving in Thea's direction, but Malcolm raised his hand and made the other person stop advancing. Evidentially, he wanted to hear what his daughter had to say next.

The young female continued talking. "I already knew that Isabel had an affair with my true father years ago! I found that out the night of Connor's party, as a matter of fact, when I overheard Oliver, my mom, and Walter having an argument about that very subject! You were telling me something I already knew! And you know what, Malcolm!? It pissed me off at first, but I quickly realized that it doesn't really matter at this point! Robert is dead now, because of you, but he was a good father to me and Oliver, despite all of his affairs, and Isabel has been good to this family in a number of ways, including saving our lives, training me to be a hero, and making my brother and nephew happy! And if you really thought I was going to help you jeopardize all of that over a little dirty laundry, which everyone in my family has, including me, well…you don't know me half as well as you think you do!"

The Dark Archer shrugged sadly. "No. I suppose I don't. Thankfully, experience has made me paranoid, and we've been talking for a long time, so the delayed effect of the different sleeping agent that I put in your drink, just in case you betrayed me, should be kicking in any second now!"

"What are you talking ab…."Thea dropped the gun to the floor and her body started to sway for several seconds before she collapsed right into Malcom's arms.

The Dark Archer gently laid Thea back in her chair. The man then turned towards Oliver and Isabel and spoke with a regretful tone of voice. "I really thought I had been able to make her understand this time that your family couldn't be trusted. Still, I know she will come around to my way of thinking and join me eventually, one way or another. As for you two, Moira, and Team Arrow, however…you have all made my life quite a nuisance as of late. Getting ARGUS and SCPD to come after me, digitally monitoring my bank accounts so I couldn't use them, trying to track me through the List, turning Thea against me. Oh, and letting the League of Assassins know I was alive so they could mark me for death! The results of that one have been particularly interesting for me!"

Malcolm pulled back his hood, allowing Oliver and Isabel to see the large scar that went from the Dark Archer's chin all the way up to his right eye, before the villain chuckled. "Of course, there have been compensations for the league's attempts to kill me. Ra's sent one of his best assassins to kill me, and she gave me this scar. But in return I was able to mark her in a different way, and, using a special concoction which was on my weapon that I learned how to make from Ra's al Ghul himself, which makes people more suggestible, I was able to win myself my very own League Assassin and bargaining chip! Isn't that right…Nyssa al Ghul?!"

Oliver held back a gasp as the second hooded individual pulled back her hood to reveal the blank face, complete with eyes that were currently glazed over, of Nyssa al Ghul, Sara Lance's former friend and lover…who also happened to be the daughter of Ra's al Ghul himself…the Daughter of the Demon! "That is correct my lord! I live only to serve you!"

Oliver and Isabel (the latter of whom recognized the significance of Merlyn having Ra's daughter brainwashed to follow his commands, even if she had never actually met Nyssa, who Sara had told her about, before) both looked at Merlyn with astonishment in their eyes, and the Dark Archer laughed again. "That's right! I have Ra's al Ghul's own daughter at my beck and call! And I am going to use her as leverage to bring my son and my wife back! But first, I am going to deal with you two, then the rest of your friends! Now the simplest way for me to do that would be to simply kill all of you, but if I did, I know I might have a hard time convincing Thea to join me willingly, which is what I want. After all, I want a daughter, not a zombie! So…"

The Dark Archer offered his hand to Oliver. "I'm going to offer you the chance to join me, instead. The chance to help me get my wife, as well as my son, your best friend, back from death's clutches. In exchange, I will not harm you, Moira, or any of your friends…not even your little whore of a girlfriend next to you!"

Oliver found himself acting instinctively, and faster than he could even think about his response to Malcolm's words, the emerald archer found his fist snapping up and hitting Malcolm in the head! This action caused several things to happen at once.

Nyssa took a long sword that she drew out of the scabbard that was strapped along her back and started to charge at Oliver. But the assassin's progress towards the Arrow was interrupted by Isabel, who ran towards Nyssa and practically tackled the daughter of the Demon. Oliver didn't have time to see much of that altercation, other than Isabel and Nyssa stumbling out of the dining room, both struggling for dominance, and both trying to take away the other's blade, towards the front of the Queen mansion, before Oliver saw Malcolm, out of the corner of his eye, reaching for his bow and quiver on his back!

Oliver reacted quickly, using his shoulder to hit Malcolm in the chest, knocking the Dark Archer off balance, before he broke out into a run. Even so, however, Oliver was just barely able to exit the dining room alive, as the Arrow felt a rush of air right next to his head, and the telltale THUMP! of an arrow hitting the wall next to him, as he dashed into one of the Queen mansion's parlors. Despite this close brush with death, however, Oliver smiled when he saw what he was looking for, a secret compartment he had installed in one of the parlor's large tables after he had confessed to his family that he was the Arrow.

After ducking under said table, narrowly avoiding another one of Malcolm's arrows Oliver quickly tapped one section of the table three times, causing the large secret compartment in the table to open, revealing a bow and a quiver with 8 arrows which Oliver quickly snatched up as he ran behind one of the Queen family's couches. This time, however, one of Malcolm's arrows managed to graze the Arrow under his right eye, as Oliver was barely able to move his head in time to avoid said arrow entering his forehead after he got out from under the table, and before he could dive behind the couch.

Oliver looked at the bow and quiver of eight arrows that were now in his hands and quickly sighed as he tried to focus all of his attention on Malcolm. There wasn't much time for thinking right now, Oliver knew, only reacting according to the strong survival instincts he had learned over the years, and a fraction of a second to make a battle plan. So the Arrow desperately tried to focus on beating the Dark Archer now, knowing he would probably only get one shot at his more experienced opponent, despite the fact that he was younger and faster than Malcolm. As hard as it was for him, Oliver knew he had to push aside his worry over how Isabel was faring in her struggle with Nyssa right now…

* * *

Isabel and Nyssa's struggle didn't last long. Although the two warriors were both very capable fighters, Nyssa had the advantage of being much better equipped for combat that Isabel was at the moment, since the League assassin was wearing full body armor and was wielding a large sword in her right hand, while Isabel only had an elegant black dress and a steak knife in repertoire. And furthermore, Isabel was holding back, trying not to kill the Daughter of the Demon, knowing the woman was brainwashed, and that there would be consequences if Nyssa died. For all of these reasons, after less than a minute of struggle, during which Isabel had managed to slash at Nyssa's arms and legs several times, only to have her blows deflected by the assassin's armor, Nyssa was finally able to use the extended reach of her sword to her advantage to slash at Isabel's arm.

Although the Midnight Sentinel moved fast enough to stop Nyssa from chopping her arm off, the assassin managed to make a surface level cut on Isabel's hand which was painful enough that the brunette grunted in pain and reflexively dropped the knife in her hand to the floor. The Daughter of the Demon's eyes were still vacant, and her voice monotone, as she then proceeded to kick Isabel in the chest until she feel to the floor before she pointed her sword threateningly toward Isabel's throat, and raised her blade high to prepare to make a killing blow. "You will die now."

The hazel eyed woman didn't even look at her would be killer while she futilely reached for the knife that was several feet away from her position on the floor. The Midnight Sentinel knew she probably wouldn't make it to the weapon on time to save herself, but she didn't let that stop her because knew she had to survive this. For Oliver's sake. And for…

Isabel's thoughts were cut off by the events that occurred next, which made the brunette curse herself for not paying attention to what was happening in the rest of the house while she was fighting Nyssa. The Midnight Sentinel was glad that Nyssa had evidently had the same kind of tunnel vision during the struggle, however, so that the assassin didn't see what was coming until it was too late, either.

"Don't hurt my mommy!" Connor Hawke, who had wandered downstairs after hearing shouts and the sounds of metal against metal over the last minute or so, rammed against Nyssa al Ghul's body with his own small form as hard as he could. Although the little boy was too small to knock Nyssa to the ground entirely, the youngest member of the Queen family was able to knock the brainwashed assassin off balance slightly.

But this action only irritated Nyssa, who then proceeded push Connor to the ground with one arm, then raise her sword up in a position right over Connor's small head. The assassin then hesitated for a moment, and if anyone had been looking at her eyes, they would have seen the glazed look in them be replaced with clarity for just a moment as her hand trembled slightly…evidence of the internal conflict within the assassin as a bit of Nyssa's old personality tried to reassert itself and stay her hand from killing Connor. Even among the Assassins, after all, killing children was anathema.

Unfortunately, the moment quickly passed, as the formula that Malcolm had used to control Nyssa's mind took control again, causing the assassin to begin bringing her sword down toward Connor's body once more. But her sword never got the chance to hit its mark, as the Daughter of the Demon felt a flash of pain hit her throat, even as she noticed that the blade of a steak knife was now inexplicably lodged in her throat, a fact which was now causing Nyssa to bleed out rapidly. The assassin only had to look down, and several feet to her right, to realize what had happened, as she saw that Isabel still had her right hand extended, and fury in her eyes, while the spot on the floor where the Midnight Sentinel's weapon had been was now vacant. The obvious, conclusion, that Isabel had picked up the steak knife and thrown it at her throat while she had been distracted by Connor, was the last coherent thought that passed through the assassin's head before she collapsed onto the floor dead.

Isabel rose up from the floor, sparing only a moment to wonder in horror at what she had done to Nyssa with the knife throwing skills that Slade Wilson had taught her years ago, and what the consequences of killing Ra's daughter would be, before she walked calmly towards Connor and helped him up from his position on the floor. She then calmly looked into the boy's eyes and spoke to the now crying six year-old. "Connor, are you hurt?!"

The small boy shook his head, and Isabel's once soft eyes became angry, even as she turned the boy's head towards her, and away from the already dead Nyssa, whose body was bleeding out on the floor. "Good. Never do that again, do you understand me!? You are never to risk your own safety to help me ever again! It is my job, and your father's, to protect you, not the other way around!"

The crying boy was shaking now. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that but…she was going to kill you and…I didn't want you to die!"

Isabel sighed as she quickly remembered that Oliver had his own battle that he was fighting with Malcolm that she needed to help him with right now. The brunette quickly hugged Connor, trying not to think about why Connor had called her his mommy, as she spoke in a softer tone of voice. "I know. And I didn't want to die, either! But I can protect myself! Your job is to keep yourself safe, do you understand?!" Isabel barely waited for Connor to nod before she added. "Now go back to your room right now so I can help your dad beat the bad man!"

Connor quickly did as he was told, and Isabel turned to walk towards one of the Queen family's parlor rooms, where she had heard signs of a struggle just moments ago…Only to find Oliver Queen had already arrived at the front of the house, bow in hand. The Arrow looked down at the body of Nyssa, then at Isabel, before he spoke in a shocked, but not necessarily reproving, voice. "Isabel, what have you done?!"

* * *

….Two minutes ago…

Oliver quickly formatted his strategy for taking Malcolm down in his head in a split second behind the temporary cover the Queen's couch provided. He knew Malcolm had several advantages over him right now. The Dark Archer was prepared, having more arrows in his quiver then Oliver, full League of Assassin's body armor, and who knew what else. Furthermore, Malcolm was more experienced, and unlike Oliver, he had no reservations what so ever about killing people.

However, the Arrow knew he had several advantages over Malcolm too. He was younger and faster, for one thing. And he had had numerous trick arrows in his quiver, including an explosive arrow, a shock arrow, and even boomerang and boxing glove arrows. But most of all, Oliver had a better reason to fight than Malcolm did. He had a living family and a girlfriend that loved him.

Oliver's thoughts were derailed as Malcolm shouted at him. "Come on, you're better than this, Oliver! Don't hide behind that couch like a coward! It won't save you from me! And if you are going to start a fight because I called your slut of a girlfriend a whore…"

But the Arrow, who was getting real tired of people talking about Isabel in a derogatory manner, and had decided to take things straight to deaf-con one with the Dark Archer and use his secret weapon right away, didn't even give his nemesis time to finish that sentence. In one fluid motion, the younger man pulled out the only black arrow in his quiver, loaded it into his bow, stood up from behind the couch, and after gently squeezing the tip of the arrow in one hand, shot the black arrow at Malcolm Merlyn's chest…. an arrow the Dark Archer quickly caught with his free hand!

Malcolm smirked, causing Oliver to think that the Dark Archer was about to make some sarcastic comment, but he never got the chance, as the part of Oliver's arrow that he was holding in his hand, suddenly opened up, sprouting several spikes which quickly cut into Malcolm's hand! The older man barely had enough time to rip the arrow out of his hand before he began to fill woozy. Realizing what was happening far too late, that Oliver had put some kind of tranquilizer chemical on an arrow that the villain deduced had been made just to stop him, Malcolm Merlyn sent a nod of professional respect in Oliver's direction before he promptly collapsed to the ground. "Well played, Oliver!"

* * *

….One hour later…

Malcolm Merlyn awoke to a world of pain as a small but powerful fist struck him on the side of the head. "Wake up, you son of a bitch!"

The Dark Archer groaned as he analyzed the situation before him. Isabel was now standing right in front of Malcolm's form, which was lying on the ground in the Queens' dining room, a fact the middle aged archer realized around the same time he figured out that his arms and legs were bound by some metal bands that were a lot stronger then rope. It didn't take the older man long to deduce that it had been Isabel who had hit him, although he had no idea why she, among all the people now present in the room, felt she had the right to be the one to wake him up in such a rude fashion. Speaking of which…

Malcolm Merlyn took in the sight of everyone who was now gathered above him, looking at him with scorn. The entire dinner party that night, minus Connor, who the Dark Archer guessed was still in his room, was awake now, and Isabel (who looked sad and guilty, as well as angry, for some reason), Moira, Oliver, Roy, Thea, and a confused looking Walter (who Malcolm guessed had finally been let in on "the family secret" about Oliver's secret identity, were all looking at him with disgust. However, there were several other people in the room now as well.

As expected, Sara Lance (now fully clad in her Canary suit and wielding Nyssa's sword, as well as her own staff), John Diggle, and Felicity Smoak, Oliver's remaining teammates, had come to the Queen mansion to help interrogate him, but the angry look that Sara kept shooting in his direction, and the running mascara that was a sure sign the Canary had been crying, was enough to make the Dark Archer's heart plummet as he guessed that something bad had happened to Nyssa, since the assassin was not in the room with everybody else. But the archer hoped he was wrong, and that Nyssa was only being kept in another room somewhere.

"Everybody else" in the room, surprisingly enough, included the rest of the Lance family, including Laurel (who Sara had been hugging tightly when Malcolm had woken up), Quentin, and surprisingly, Dinah Lance. Malcolm raised his eyebrow at the presence of the last two members of that family, especially since Quentin and Dinah were both in their pajamas, and their hair and clothes still looked somewhat disheveled, despite the fancy looking robes which Malcolm guessed that Moira had supplied them with after she regained consciousness. But before he could think much more about this, or reach the obvious conclusion that Laurel had seen Sara take off in the middle of the night, figured out an emergency was occurring, and interrupted…whatever her parents were up to so they could follow Sara here, to the site of the emergency, Oliver Queen's words interrupted his nemesis' thought processes.

The blonde man practically barked at Malcolm. "You better tell me what you were planning on doing by pulling this stunt, and putting my loved ones' lives in danger, right now, and I better like what you have to say, or I swear to whatever powers govern this universe, I'll hand you over to the League! Give me a reason **not** to kill you by handing you over to the League of Assassins!"

Malcolm nodded calmly. "I can do that. I saved your mother's life! The jury that oversaw her trial was going to find Moira guilty, and give her the death penalty, until I used my influence to bribe or intimidate all twelve jury members to find her not guilty! That was me! Just ask your mother, she knows!"

Oliver looked at Moira, who nodded her head, then turned towards Malcolm with a still very pissed off expression on his face. "Well, as commendable as all that may be, I'm afraid that's just not good enough, Malcolm! You see, I'm fairly certain you only saved my mom so that you could get in Thea's good graces…"

"That's not true!" Malcolm shouted. "I am somewhat fond of your mother and I didn't want her to get hurt!"

Oliver shook his head. "And I suppose that was the reason you were there to protect her when Deathstroke tried to kill her later? Oh, that's right, you didn't do that! What you did do, however, was kill my father, your son, and hundreds of other people during the Undertaking, and try to kill me and some of my friends multiple times! And that's just the tip of the iceberg!"

Oliver took a deep breath to calm down, then spoke. "So if you don't want to die, I suggest you start telling us what your plan was!"

Malcolm shook his head in frustration. "I already told you, I wanted to save my family! I was going to make a deal with Ra's al Ghul to bring Tommy and Rebecca back to life using this spring of incredible power called the Lazarus Pit, whose healing powers can even bring people back from death! And then, after I gained Thea's trust, the four of us were going to be a family together!"

Thea crossed her arms defiantly in front of her. "That is never going to happen, Malcolm!"

Sara chose that moment to interrupt while she continued to glare at the Dark Archer, although the man noticed that both of the Lance sisters' eyes had widened in interest at what he had said a few seconds ago about being able to bring people back from the dead. "Nice try, Malcolm, but that story doesn't check out! We both know the Lazarus Pit has side effects when it is used to bring people back who are freshly dead! Rebecca has been dead for years, and Tommy has been dead for over six months! There is no way you could use the Lazarus Pit to bring them back now!"

Malcolm smirked. "Actually, I can! I was always a sentimental man, you see, even before my wife died. So, years ago, I commissioned my company's applied science's division to do something extraordinary, something that the Soviets weren't even able to accomplish for Stalin years ago! I had them make three caskets, just big enough for all of the members of my family at the time, which could sustain human tissue and bone indefinitely! Keep dead bodies, perfectly preserved, until the end of time, if necessary! When Rebecca died, I had her corpse placed in the first caskets. After Tommy died, I stole his corpse hours afterward, replacing his body with a biological duplicate I had a specialist cook up for me, a clone if you will, although it would never have been able to achieve consciousness. And I placed my son's body in the second casket! And both those caskets, and the third, are now hidden in the basement of a property that I bought under an assumed name, just before the Undertaking! I can even tell you the address of the house so you can check for yourselves!"

The Dark Archer did so, before he added. "For all intents and purpose, my wife and son are still 'freshly dead', as you say, Miss Lance! They can still be brought back!"

Malcolm looked imploringly at Oliver, who looked uncertain about what to do now. "Don't you want that, Oliver?! Don't you want me to be able to bring my son, your best friend, back from the dead?! That can still happen! All you and your friends would have to do is join me, and we can bring him back, and put all of this bad blood behind us! What do you say, Arrow!""

"Ollie…" Laurel interrupted the whole proceeding with tears in her eyes. "You have to help him, Oliver! As much as I hate Malcolm, you have to! If it means we can get Tommy back! You promised, remember?! You promised that if there were any way to bring Tommy, the man I love, back from the dead, you would do it! Well, this is that way! You promised!"

Oliver sighed, and his shoulders slumped. "I did promise that, didn't I?"

The Arrow looked down at the middle aged man at his feet, who was now smirking in triumph. "Fine. But before we untie you, I need to hear your plan, make sure there aren't any holes in it, and that you aren't leading us into a trap. So spill!"

Sara glared at Oliver. "I don't believe you're siding with that monster!"

Several other people in the room where also staring at Oliver in disbelief because of his declaration he would side with Malcolm, especially Isabel, but the older man ignored them all as he spoke. "It's quite simple really. We can simply fly right to Nanda Parbat, request an audience using his captive daughter, after you release her from wherever you are keeping her, as leverage, and then…"

"Well, there goes your plan, you son of a bitch! Nyssa al Ghul is dead!" Sara screamed as she glared at the Dark Archer.

Malcolm looked like a fish out of water as his mouth opened and closed in confusion. "What! That can't be! She can't be! My entire plan depends on using her as a bargaining chip! Are you sure she is dead!?"

Isabel cast a sad glance at Sara, who she had already told this story to before. "I'm sure. I killed her myself because she attacked Connor in her brainwashed state and I didn't know how else to save him!"

Moira surprised everyone when she laid a comforting hand on Isabel's shoulder. "You did what you had to do to protect my grandson, Isabel! That is nothing to be ashamed of! In fact, I'm very grateful that you saved Connor's life! You acted like a true Queen tonight, Isabel! You did the right thing!"

Isabel didn't know what to say to that, but she suddenly felt a stronger kinship and understanding with Moira Queen. She understood now, how easy it was to slip into a pattern of behavior that put protecting people that she was starting to consider part of her family before the lives of others. And even though she would like to think she would never put the lives of Connor, Oliver, or even Thea, over saving thousands of other people, as Moira had done during the Undertaking, the brunette understood now how easy it would be to do just that if the ones she loved were put in danger. And for that reason, that very night, Isabel was able to banish her last vestiges of dislike towards Moira Queen as she spoke to the Queen matriarch. "Thank you, Moira, that means a lot coming from you. But still…"

The Midnight Sentinel turned to the Canary. "I'm sorry, Sara! I know that you loved Nyssa once, and…"

"I still love her! I never stopped! Just because I couldn't stand killing innocent people and had to leave the League doesn't mean I stopped loving her!" Sara Lance half cried/half screamed in Malcolm's direction, before she trailed her words off and turned towards Isabel with tears in her eyes, giving her a sympathetic look. "But you didn't kill her, Isabel! Not really. There is only one person who is responsible for Nyssa being dead, and that is Malcolm Merlyn! And he will pay for what he has done!"

Sara drew her sword and charged towards Malcolm, and, seeing that it was obvious that Malcolm no longer had a workable plan to save Tommy or Rebecca, nobody stood in her way as she did so, and Oliver actually stepped right out of the Canary's way as the middle-aged started to loudly plead for his life. "No! Don't! I can still fix this! I can bring back Ny…"

Those were the last words that ever left Malcolm Merlyn's mouth before Sara reached him and cut off the Dark Archers head with one clean strike from Nyssa's blade!

Seconds later, after everyone was sure Malcolm was dead, and the individuals in the Queen Mansion had gotten over the shook of seeing Sara kill the Dark Archer, some after yelling or covering their eyes for several seconds. Sara turned towards Isabel. "I want to make sure that this bastard can never be resurrected, by Ra's al Ghul, or anybody else! Can you help me haul Malcolm's body, minus his head, which I still have plans for, to this mansion's furnace, if you know where it is?!"

Isabel looked at Moira, Oliver and Thea for permission, all of whom silently nodded to the brunette, before the Midnight Sentinel turned back to the Canary. "I know where it is! And I would be glad to help you dispose of that son of a bitch's remains!"

Several minutes later, after the Canary and the Midnight Sentinel had burned Malcolm's body, minus his head, to ashes, the two heroes, returned to the scene in chaos. Several people were talking amongst each other, and Isabel, with her enhanced senses, was able to catch fragments of all of those conversations before she turned her hearing down a little.

"Well, Moira, I think a lot of things about your family make a lot more sense to me now. I just want you to know that, while I do understand why you kept this particular secret from me, I couldn't be more proud of Oliver…"

"We picked a heck of a Christmas to get back together, didn't we, Dinah!? Oh well, I guess I understand why it was important to Moira for me to become Police Captain now, so that I could look out for her son, just like I look out for my daughter! I just don't know how I'm going to cover up everything that happened tonight from the boys at the station…"

"There is blood all over two of the carpets in my house! How am I supposed to get this cleaned up without raising suspicion?"

But the words that Isabel honed in on most came from Oliver, who was awkwardly holding Laurel's shoulder with one arm while his childhood friend sobbed something about Tommy being gone for good now. "I'm really sorry, Laurel! But Tommy died months ago, and without a coherent plan, it's just too risky for us to try to bring him back! I'm sorry, but it just can't be done! If my team and I tried to go to Nanda Parbat now, it would be suicide. There is no way we can save Tommy, or Nyssa, or anybody else now!"

It was this last conversation that Sara replied to as she raised her voice to speak over everyone else. "Actually, that's not quite true. Once upon a time, I was the…consort to the Daughter of the Demon. She showed me things when she and I were still together. Things about the layout of the League's base, the guards' patrol patterns…pretty much everything about the League of Assassins actually, more than anybody except the two of us, and Ra's al Ghul, himself, knew. If you all will help me get those three cryo-coffins, or whatever they are, that Malcolm mentioned, we can still use them, and the information I possess, to sneak into the Nanda Parbat base, and save Tommy, Rebecca, and, if we hurry and get her body into one of those coffins quickly, Nyssa al Ghul! We don't need Malcolm Merlyn to do that!"

Sara smirked. "Actually, that's not quite true!" The Canary picked up Malcolm Merlyn's head out of the ice chest it was being stored in. "We will need this!"

Oliver and Isabel both looked at each other, and, sensing Isabel's need to put right her wrong by having Nyssa resurrected, the Arrow nodded, before he said. "I guess we better get packing then! And anybody who is coming with me better pack some warm clothes! I hear it gets awful cold in the Hindu Kush mountain ranges!"

 **AN: Okay, here we are again, at the end of another long chapter! First of all I would like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed my story so far, especially those who reviewed my last chapter, including, in no particular order, Pootamis, Troll99, highlander348, Phillipe363, and WinterRain36! Your input and continued support are greatly appreciated!**

 **I hope none of you mind how much Connor there was in this chapter, or how many unanswered questions I have left for you, my readers, in this chapter. As far as that first point goes, I can only say that my muse took over, and made me write more Connor related content than I anticipated. Seriously though, it was like the story started writing itself. But as far as the second point goes, that was entirely intentional, I'm afraid. Hold on, ladies and gentlemen! This will be where my story gets REALLY interesting!**

 **A few last notes here, and a question. I edited several of my prior chapters for the sake of plot consistency, and while most of these small changes were for innocuous things like making sure a character's hair color stayed consistently the same, there was one small, but important change that may stand out a little more to readers who read the original posting of one of my previous chapters. A change which may or may not point to a spoiler. I wonder if any of you can find it…Oh, and I was wondering if this fic had enough violence to justify an "M" rating. Please let me know so that I can change the rating, if you think it is necessary. I know the violence was a little over the top at times, but I really felt it was necessary that it be established that Malcolm is really. Truly. Dead. Before the story can continue. But if you still think the violence in this chapter was too much, let me know!**

 **Once again, thank you all for your support and input! Please leave a review and let me know how I did on this chapter! I hope you all liked it, despite some of its darker themes. And last but not least, I need to thank my beta-reader, without whom my writing would be as messy as…well, as messy as the Queen family's carpets right about now. Your help is greatly appreciated!**

 **Until next time, I am…**

 **-supercode**


	9. Gearing Up, Shipping Out, Crashing Down

The entire Mansion bustled with activity the day after Christmas starting in the early morning, as Isabel went to run a very important errand. Meanwhile, Oliver, Diggle, and Lyla (who Diggle had called for assistance yesterday to help clean up all evidence of last night's more violent events in the Queen home) coordinated to secure a mode of transportation for Team Arrow. After all, they were about to embark upon a very important, and very urgent (given that it would not be long before Ra's Al Ghul found out about his daughter's death and decided to seek vengeance on whomever he deemed responsible) mission. In the meantime, the rest of Team Arrow secured supplies, including appropriate clothes, weapons, and other important gear, for the mission. Felicity simultaneously hacked every satellite that was scheduled to pass over Nanda Parbat for the next 48 hours and looked up as much info on the League of Assassin's fortress as she could. Unfortunately, the blonde tech expert found absolutely nothing of use for infiltrating Ra's Al Ghul's fortress, so the former IT girl resigned herself to being Team Arrow's eyes, ears, and communication's specialist for this particular mission. Everybody else who was still in the Queen household (Quentin and Dinah Lance had left early this morning) mostly just talked among themselves and tried to stay out Team Arrow's way, although Thea looked very agitated at the moment, and it was obvious she wanted to join her brother, her boyfriend, her trainer, and her friend on the mission.

By the time Isabel had returned to the mansion, most of the preparations for the mission had already been completed. However, Oliver Queen still looked very nervous when he addressed his girlfriend. "How did the doctor say...?"

The Arrow hesitated, in case someone else was listening in to this conversation. "How did she say you were doing after that fight with Nyssa last night?"

Understanding what her boyfriend was getting at, Isabel smiled for only a second, before a stoic look slid back across her face. "She said everything is fine. Caitlin even said that if I hadn't told her I had been in a life or death struggle last night, she would never have known about it, since my hand wound has already healed. According to Doctor Snow, I am the picture of health. Everything is fine."

Oliver sighed with relief, catching the full extent of what his girlfriend was telling him with her words. "Good. That really good. I was worried that…But everything is okay. That is really good news."

Isabel smiled at Oliver briefly and spoke just one word to her boyfriend before pulling him into a kiss. "Yeah."

After their brief, five second osculation, the Midnight Sentinel reluctantly pulled away from the Arrow. "And I'm glad you're okay too, Oliver. But are you sure you don't need to see a doctor as well after that fight with Merlyn last night? My senses aren't picking up any damage to your system from that struggle, apart from that…" Isabel pointed at the cut on Oliver's face, which was currently covered by a bandage. "But I still think…"

Oliver shook his head. "I'm fine, Isabel! We both know I've lived through a lot worse! But I'm glad you are okay after that fight with Nyssa last night. I just. I love you and…"

The Arrow struggled for words for several seconds before Isabel smirked and decided to end her boyfriend's misery. "I know. I love you too, Oliver, and I feel the same way."

The emerald archer smiled at the brunette in front of him for several seconds before his face took on a more serious expression. "Yeah…So, what did the good people at STAR labs think about helping us out with this mission?"

Isabel sighed. "I don't think that is going to happen, Oliver. Barry is still spending almost all of his time trying to find out where the false Harrison Wells is ever since he disappeared around the night of Connor's party. You know, I did met him once over a year ago. The impostor, I think. And he did strike me as a little…off."

Oliver nodded, Barry had introduced the faux Harrison Wells to him once, and he hadn't gotten a good vibe from the man either. He had also heard from Felicity that her boyfriend's search for whomever had been impersonating Harrison Wells for years had led to several startling discoveries lately, such as the body of the real Harrison Wells, and the discovery that the man who had been impersonating the scientist, the man who had mentored Barry for a few months, was the "man in the yellow suit" who had killed Barry Allen's mother. This fact, of course, had made the search for this "Reverse Flash", who appeared to have simply vanished without a trace, apparently leaving all his earthly possessions behind him, in his home the night of Connor's party (he had even left his stove on, a fact which nearly caused the villain's house to catch fire that night) all the more urgent.

And Oliver got why solving the mystery of the Reverse Flash's disappearance was important to Barry and the STAR labs scientists. He really did. The villain had Barry's mother, putting the young man's father in prison for her murder, and betrayed all of his employees, after all. But Oliver had a funny feeling, a hunch, if you will, that the Reverse Flash wasn't going to turn up again. That feeling had no basis in fact, but still, the Arrow was almost certain that, for one reason or another, faux Wells was gone for good. Besides… "Couldn't Barry and the others put that search on hold for a day or two? I know finding his mother's killer is important to him and the scientists at STAR labs, but still…"

Isabel huffed in annoyance. "No. Barry won't budge on this. Finding Harrison Wells' impostor is his first priority right now. He thinks doing so well get justice for his mom and allow him to get his dad out of prison. And that seems to be trumping almost all other concerns for the Flash at the moment. He hasn't even been stopping as many crimes in his own city lately, and even Felicity couldn't convince Barry to help us right now when he is this obsessed with finding the man in the yellow suit!"

Oliver shook his head. Barry Allen was making his hero's journey personal, allowing his feelings about his loved ones to cloud his judgment about what his responsibilities as a hero entailed. That was a rookie mistake, one which, Oliver reluctantly admitted to himself, he had also made during his first few months as the Hood with the way he went about going after Count Vertigo. So the Arrow understood where Barry was coming from right now. But that didn't stop Oliver from being royally pissed at the insanely fast meta-human for putting his own personal feelings above helping Team Arrow now.

The emerald archer scowled, then shook his head. "That's a shame. We really could have used the Flash's help on this mission. The kid's still a novice at this, but he's very fast. And with his speed, informed by my experience…I'm just saying that things on Nanda Parbat could have been a lot easier if he was coming with us."

Isabel nodded, noting as she did so, that her boyfriend was already in his full Arrow costume. "Yes, I'm sure the Flash's presence would help. But we don't actually need him to do the mission. We've got this, Oliver! The two of us, and the rest of team Arrow! And you know what?! I'm sure that, as long as you and I have each other's backs, we will both come out of this just fine! Now…"

Isabel looked down at her the dress she was currently wearing and smirked. "I think it's time for me change into something a little more practical for Nanda Parbat this time of year, and gear up so that I can join you and the rest of the team on the mission…."

Oliver quickly sighed before interrupting his girlfriend. "You're not going."

Isabel glared at Oliver. "Like hell I'm not! You said yourself last night that this may be the hardest, most dangerous mission any of us have ever faced! You need me out there watching your back!"

Oliver didn't budge, and the determined look in his gray eyes matched the same gaze in Isabel's hazel orbs. "No, I don't. I know you have saved my skin a lot in the past, and I'm thankful for that, but…I survived many battles before you came into my life, Isabel, and I can survive this one without you! In fact, I think, given the circumstances…I might be better off without you there, so that I can focus. Like I said, last night, this mission is very dangerous, potentially a suicide mission, and I don't want you to come with me this time!"

The brunette crossed her arms defiantly in front of her chest. "And you don't think I can handle myself in dangerous situations?! That's bullshit, Oliver, and you know it! I've fought in hazardous conditions before when I was helping you stop Deathstroke, and then when I was helping you track down Malcolm and cracking down on crime in this city! You know that I could be helpful in any combat situations that arise on Nanda Parbat! Why would you want to leave me behind this time?!"

Oliver looked at his girlfriend with an intensity that Isabel knew rarely reached the surface, before the Arrow said, in a calm, but very matter of fact voice. "You know why."

Isabel sighed and took Oliver's face in her hands, her anger at the Arrow completely forgotten as she looked at her boyfriend with tenderness in her eyes. "Oliver…I appreciate you concern, I really do. I know where that is coming from, but… I need to go with you and the rest of the team. I need to help you bring Nyssa back to right the wrong that I did to her and Sara by killing the Daughter of the Demon. And if this mission is half as dangerous as you say, I need to be there with you to watch your back. If I stay here, I'll lose my mind with worry. I know that about myself. Plus, if something were to happen to you in Nanda Parbat while I was sitting here in the comfort of your family's mansion…I would never forgive myself, knowing that I might have been able to keep you safe, but I chose to stay behind instead!"

Oliver leaned into Isabel's touch, and put his own hand on his girlfriend's face, but didn't take his eyes away from hers. "And how do you think I will feel if you come on this mission, and something happens to you…"

The Midnight Sentinel interrupted the Arrow with a forceful tone. "It won't, Oliver! I promise you that I will be careful, and I know that you will be watching my back out there, just like I will watch yours! And as long as we do that for each other, I don't see anything happening to either one of us that we won't be able to walk away from!"

Oliver huffed in annoyance as he slowly pulled away from Isabel. "You aren't going to let me leave in that plane without you, are you?!"

The brunette smirked. "Nope."

The blonde man nodded. "Okay, then. Be ready and geared up in an hour. I will go coordinate some last minute mission details about the plane we are using with Diggle and Lyla."

Isabel just nodded, then turned around and started marching toward her and Oliver's room to get her Midnight Sentinel gear and costume on. The emerald archer sighed, and for what felt like the hundredth time that day, thought that he would feel much better about this mission if Team Arrow had the Flash working with them in Nanda Parbat, to protect everyone on the team, especially Isabel. Oliver mentally cursed the young police scientist for his absence today, and his preoccupation with "the Man in the Yellow Suit". But at the same time, the Arrow couldn't help but wonder: What had happened to the man that Cisco had dubbed, "The Reverse Flash" anyway?

* * *

The answer to that question, about what had happened to Eobard Thawne; was a very interesting one. In fact, the answer actually impacted many important aspects of Oliver Queen's life. Unfortunately, neither the Arrow nor his teammates, or indeed, anyone in this Oliver Queen's timeline, would ever know for certain what had happened to the Reverse Flash. The reason for this was due to the very nature of time itself, and the effects of time travel, within the Arrow's universe.

The sequence of events which had led to Eobard's disappearance were, remarkably, set in motion by a rather unremarkable event that had occurred a little over a year ago. A small, seemingly insignificant choice that the Reverse Flash, disguised as Harrison Wells, had made. The man had decided to get on the earliest possible flight, instead of the red eye, to Starling City, from which the scientist from the future would drive the remaining 26 miles back to Central City, after attending a physics conference in Metropolis. This choice, in and of itself, had no practical significance.

What was significant was that the scientist's assigned seat for the flight happened to be next to none other than Isabel Rochev, who was on her way back to Starling City after doing research on a company in Metropolis for Stellmoor International. Eobard, who had instantly recognized the woman who would become the short-lived villainess known as Ravager, a woman whom all the history books he had grown up reading in his future said would be killed by a member of the League of Assassins in less than two years' time, had found the coincidence of being seated next to one of his nemesis' ally's enemies somewhat amusing. But he and the businesswoman didn't say a word to each other until ten minutes into the flight, at which point, the brunette's computer had crashed, and the presentation that the woman had been working on giving to her employer had seemingly been erased, an event which made Isabel curse under her breath so quietly that Eobard had barely heard it.

Since the Reverse Flash really didn't have anything better to do at the moment, he had offered to help the hazel-eyed woman retrieve her data. Having no other recourse, since Isabel was supposed to give Slade Wilson her best sales pitch in a few hours, so that the one-eyed man would give her the go-ahead to invest his money in acquiring a company in Metropolis she had been doing research on, the brunette reluctantly allowed Eobard to fix her computer. After Eobard was easily able to do so after only five minutes (21st century technology was child's play for the future scientist to manipulate), and Isabel was able finish her presentation, save it, and back it up on a thumb drive, the two villains had, out of boredom, struck up a conversation.

That conversation eventually moved to the subject of the villains' "careers", and it quickly became apparent that both Eobard and Isabel had rivals in their mundane, as well as their super-villain, identities. "Harrison Wells", as one of the most successful scientists in the world (although much of that success came from the villain cheating by "inventing" things that had already been invented centuries ago by other people in his own timeline), had many rival scientists who wanted to see him fall from the pedestal that many prominent scientific journals and magazines had put him on top of. And for Isabel, well…staging hostile takeovers of companies and liquating those companies assets, leaving thousands of people jobless, had not made the brunette woman many friends either. Eventually, the conversation between the two (at that time) villains had turned to Eobard and Isabel's approach to dealing with their "critics".

Isabel had been the first to offer her thoughts on this matter. "How do I deal with all those failed CEOs and company presidents, and other sad individuals whose failing companies I rip away from them? That's very simple. I draw the process out a little. If I'm going to have to go through the monotonous job of going through all of the paperwork, all the court-cases, and most of all, the sheer monotonous bureaucracy that it takes to acquire a company, I'm going to enjoy myself doing it. I want to see the look on those formerly powerful men's faces as they slowly realize their company is doomed and that they have no choice but to sell it to my employer. And it may seem wicked of me, but I like to savor that moment, that feeling of utter panic that my business rivals feel as they realize I'm going to take away everything they've worked so hard to build and maintain. Sometimes, the thought of savoring that moment of the panic of my business rivals, is the only thing that gets me through all the drudgery that my job usually entails. But, I don't let my opponents know how much I enjoy their dread, and I never look them directly in the eye for long as I do so. I find that makes me a more intimidating opponent."

Eobard smirked as he thought about all the damage, short term as most of it would be, that he just knew the woman he was conversing with would bring to Oliver Queen fairly soon…before she died, that is. And he admitted to himself that there was something to Ravager's advice about drawing out an opponent's suffering as long as possible that he really liked. So the scientist decided, right then and there, that he would work hard to heal whatever injuries Barry Allen would sustain as a result of STAR Labs' particle accelerator blowing up as quickly as possible…if only to watch Barry agonize over finding his mother's killer just a little bit longer while the hero knowingly worked with the individual who had committed that dark deed. But there was one problem the Reverse Flash had with Ravager's advice…

"Actually…" The scientist spoke in a tone that was meant to be superior, but came across as creepy to Isabel. "I've found that, when dealing with my critics, I like to look them directly in the eye for at least several seconds when I speak to them. It lets them know you aren't afraid of them and scares them because it makes them think you know something they don't. Which, if you're half as smart as you seem to be, Miss Rochev, you probably do know more than your competitors do most of the time. I certainly wouldn't want to be your business rival, that's for sure."

Isabel smirked, but she was secretly creeped out by the man she was speaking to for reasons she couldn't put her finger on. Something about the physicist's tone of voice just unnerved her. But, of course, the brunette didn't let that anxiety about "Wells" show when she spoke in a smug tone. "You should be. No offense, but I would utterly destroy you. Thankfully, despite your vast individual scientific accomplishments… your lab is not commercially successful enough at this time to be on Stellmoor International's radar. For the time being, anyway."

"Ravager" had then made up an excuse to end the conversation with the creepy man sitting next to her, and pretty soon, after the plane landed and the two villains parted ways, Isabel was able to push most of the conversation she had unknowingly had with the "Reverse Flash" out of her mind. Except for the part about looking her opponent in the eyes before she destroyed them. Isabel liked that. She liked it a lot. And the hazel-eyed villain decided, right then and there, that she would look Oliver Queen right in the eye before she destroyed everything he loved.

Of course, things hadn't quite turned out that way, not in this timeline, anyway. Instead, that one conversation between villains on the plane had led to Eobard and Isabel making slightly different choices than they would have otherwise. Eobard choose to wake Barry up from his coma earlier than he had originally planned to, before the young man had even developed super-speed, thus, drawing out the scarlet speedster's agony over finding his mother's killer instead of allowing his friends and family to suffer while Barry was in a coma. And Isabel, for her part, decided to look Oliver Queen right in the eye for a long moment when she first met him and confronted the Arrow with the news she was about to take his company from him.

In a dazzling display of "the butterfly effect", which states that small changes can lead to much bigger ones as time goes by, these small decisions set in motion a set of circumstances in which Isabel fell in love with Oliver Queen, turned on Slade Wilson, and, consequently, lived longer than she would have if she had remained a villainess, as she had in the timeline that Eobard Thawne came from. Furthermore, since Oliver Queen's heart had, in turn, been snatched up by Isabel Rochev, Felicity Smoak had forced herself to cease pursuing the emerald archer in favor of falling for, and eventually dating, a man who would have still been in a coma in the Reverse Flash's timeline…Barry Allen.

Because of all of these changes, it eventually came to pass one night, a couple of weeks before Christmas, that Felicity and Barry told each other they loved each other for the first time. Coincidentally, during that very same moment, Eddie Thawne proposed to his girlfriend, Iris West, who, unencumbered by any unconscious feelings she had possessed for Barry Allen, which the African-American woman had gotten over quickly after seeing how well Barry and Felicity worked as couple, said yes. It was at this very moment that the odds that Barry Allen would marry Felicity Smoak in the future, and that Eddie Thawne would marry Iris West, reached one, complete metaphysical certitude.

Thus, on that fateful night, history was changed. At that moment, Eddie became destined to marry, and have children with, Iris West, instead of the woman he had married and fathered children with in Eobald's timeline. Thus, that other woman that Eddie would have ended up with, a name that had been lost to history by the time Eobald was born in his timeline, never married Eddie. Consequently, that nameless woman would never become Eobald's ancestor. So the Reverse Flash would never be born in this timeline. This was, of course, a paradox.

The result of this paradox was that, that night, the night that Eddie proposed to Iris, seemingly without any explanation, Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash, also falsely known as "Harrison Wells", simply disappeared in a puff of logic while he had been cooking his dinner in his home. Sadly, nobody in this timeline would ever know what happened to the Reverse Flash, and "Harrison Wells" would never get off the FBI's missing persons list.

* * *

After changing into her Midnight Sentinel uniform, Isabel Rochev saw that she still had over half an hour to spare before she left with the rest of team Arrow to drive to the hangar from whence they would depart for Nanda Parbat. Deciding to use this time effectively, the brunette woman forgoed interacting with Moira (who she really didn't have anything to say to, anyway), Laurel (who was arguing with some of the other members of team Arrow that she should be allowed to go on the mission because she had been training with a kick boxing instructor for a couple weeks, so she would be able to "take care of myself", an argument Isabel felt was laughable) and Thea, who was already dressed in her hero costume as she tried to insist she was going to accompany her brother, her boyfriend, and her trainer to Nanda Parbat. Isabel suppressed a sigh as she thought she would need to try to dissuade Thea, as impressive as her skills were, from coming on a very dangerous mission like this one before her training was completed. But that could wait for a few minutes. What Isabel was about to do, couldn't.

Suppressing a gulp, Isabel walked up to the door of Connor's room, where the little boy had mostly isolated himself since the events of last night (although he had reluctantly come downstairs to eat breakfast this morning after his dad called for him three times, as he had seemed very frightened since that time, despite his family members attempts to talk to the blonde child and calm him down. And Isabel…Isabel had been avoiding talking to Connor since she had saved his life last night. Because he had called her "mommy" last night when he had tried to save her from Nyssa. And the brunette, whose guilt over killing Nyssa had still been fresh on her mind after her battle with the assassin was over, and whose mind had been occupied by other important matters this morning, hadn't been able to muster up enough emotional resources to discuss why Connor had called Isabel "mommy" up until this point.

Even so, Isabel knew that thorny issue would need to be addressed sooner or later, and she wanted to do so now, before the mission to Nanda Parbat, so that she wouldn't have any unfinished business to distract her from the mission. So, with more than a little trepidation, Isabel knocked on Connor Hawke's door and called out to Oliver's son. "Hey, Connor. It's Isabel. Can I come in to talk to you for a second?"

After several awkward seconds, the young boy called out. "Sure, you can come in."

As Isabel did so, closing Connor's door behind her, she noticed that Connor was still playing with his toys and avoiding eye contact with her. Before the brunette could even ask her boyfriend's son how he was doing, Connor spoke, although his eyes still wouldn't leave the action figures he was playing with. "Are you still mad at me for trying to save you last night, Isabel?"

Isabel shook her head, and gave Connor the most reassuring look she could, although the boy couldn't see it at the moment. "Of course not! I wasn't angry at you last night either, Connor! Okay, maybe I was a little bit…but mostly I was just scared! Like I've said before, your dad and I love you, and we just don't want you getting yourself hurt!"

Connor continued playing with his dinosaur action figures, but his eyes were now filling with tears. "If you aren't mad at me, why haven't you been talking to me since last night?! Did I do something wrong?!"

Isabel felt really bad now for not making an effort to help Connor process everything that had happened last night before now, even though she had her reasons for doing so at the time. But now, because she hadn't talked to him since last night, Connor thought she was mad at him. Sometimes, the hazel eyed woman mused silently to herself, her ability to process and deal with emotions really sucked. But she could still try to make things right now.

With that thought in mind, the Midnight Sentinel quickly got on her knees so that she could draw Connor, who had finally decided to drop his toys to the floor, into a hug. "I'm sorry. I should have talked to you before, but I had a lot on my mind then, and I didn't know what to say to you. But you didn't do anything wrong."

Connor returned the hug, and wouldn't let go for several seconds, after she dried his tears. "Oh. That's all? That sounds silly, Isabel! I know you kind of stink about knowing how to act around people sometimes, but I know that you are a nice person underneath, that's why I love you, and I'm guessing that's the reason my dad loves you too. So you can always talk to me!"

Isabel chuckled as she finally pulled away from Connor. "I'll keep that in mind. But…since that is the case, there is something I wanted to ask you about."

Connor, who now looked much happier, and was actually sporting a small smile on his face, just nodded. "Okay."

The female CEO sighed. "I wanted to ask you…why did you call me 'mommy' last night, Connor? I mean, you realize that, even though I love you, I'm not actually your mother, right? Sandra Hawke is. Your dad and I even gave you that album full of pictures of her yesterday."

Connor actually looked down and blushed. "I didn't mean to say that, what I said last night, out loud, but…I know that, Isabel! Sandra was my mom, and…" The little boy furrowed his eyes in concentration and ran his hands through his short blonde hair, like his father sometimes did when he was thinking really hard. "I love her. I guess. But I don't really know her. And I can't remember her at all, really, even with the pictures. And I've been trying to remember her, really, really hard, for as long as I can remember, but I can't. Is that bad?"

Badly wanting to wipe the sad look off her boyfriend's son's face, Isabel shook her head. "No. From what Oliver told me, you were really little when your mom passed away. Your brain hadn't formed the ability to make lasting memories yet. If you can't remember your mom that well, that's not your fault. And it certainly doesn't make you a bad boy. In fact, you're probably the best-behaved six-year old I've ever met!"

Connor just nodded, before he resumed speaking. "The thing is, though, Isabel, I can't remember my mom. But I have read a lot about different kinds of families when I was in the orphanage, and you're the closest thing to a mommy I can actually remember. Ever since I've gotten out of the orphanage, you and my dad have been the ones who have been there for me the most, even more than Aunt Thea or Grandma Moira! You hug me, you play with me, and you help my dad take care of me. And you love me. And I know you and my dad love each other, so…"

Connor shrugged. "I don't know. But I feel like Sandra was my mom. Is my mom. But you're my mommy. Is that a bad thing to say?"

Isabel sighed yet again as she looked at Connor. She didn't think that she was ready for that kind of label right now, not because she didn't love Connor, but because she was afraid she wasn't ready for the level of responsibility over the young boy's life being a mother-figure entailed, when she had done such a poor job managing her own life until recently. On the other hand, she didn't want to hurt the gray-eyed boy's feelings and make him feel like she was rejecting him, so… "No. That's not a bad thing to say, Connor. I just don't think I've earned that title, since I didn't give birth to you, and I've only been helping care for you for less than a month…."

But Connor, who was now crossing his small arms in a desperate attempt to look serious and defiant, would have none of it. "My daddy hasn't been taking care of me any longer! I guess that's not his fault, since he explained to me he didn't know I was around before that, but you've been here for me just as long as my dad has! And you love me, and I love you! That's all I care about! As far as I'm concerned, you're my mommy now!"

Isabel just nodded. She had no response to that right now. "We'll talk about this later, Connor. But your dad and I have to go on a little trip now. We can continue this conversation when I get back."

Connor nodded. "I know you are leaving for a while. Dad told me you and him, and Roy, and auntie Sara were going out on Arrow business. Aunt Thea told me she was going too, but dad said he didn't want her to come for some reason. And auntie Laurel said she wanted to come to, but both my dad and aunt Thea said they definitely weren't go to let that happen. It sounds like you all are going someplace pretty dangerous, Isabel!"

The brunette woman thought for a second before responding to Connor's words and the young boy's fearful tone of voice. "It will be a little dangerous, yes. But Oliver and I, and the rest of us heroes know what we are doing! We can take care of ourselves, and we will be just fine!"

"Do you promise?!" Connor's voice trembled a little as he spoke. "Do you promise that you and my dad, and everybody else, will come back?"

Isabel hesitated only a second before telling the young boy what she knew he needed to hear. "Yes, Connor, I promise you that we will all come back safe, especially your dad and I, okay!?"

Connor had a doubtful expression on his face as he nodded. "Okay, Isabel." The brunette thought that was the end of the conversation, and she turned to leave the room before the blonde boy added. "I love you, Isabel."

Isabel turned back towards the blonde haired, gray-eyed boy who she was having so much trouble figuring out how to talk to right now. But even so, the brunette was speaking straight from the heart when she spoke just before leaving the room. "I love you too, Connor!"

* * *

The rest of the preparations for the mission to Nanda Parbat went by relatively quickly, and it wasn't long before Lyla, all of team Arrow (including Diggle, who would be giving the team tactical advice with Felicity over the comms), and surprisingly, Thea Queen, were at the airfield where the ARGUS jet was waiting. The latter party had decided to pre-empt any possibility that her brother and his friends might leave her behind by simply showing up to the airfield before anyone besides Lyla, who was going to be the team's pilot for this mission.

Oliver and Isabel had still tried to convince the youngest Queen female that, despite her natural talent, she had not yet reached the stage in her training in which she was ready for this kind of mission. But Thea wouldn't hear it, and the young woman had threatened that the only way she wouldn't be going on this mission was if someone knocked her unconscious and dragged her all the way back to the Queen Mansion. After a long, awkwardly silent minute in which it was obvious Oliver was contemplating doing just that, the Arrow finally gave in and reluctantly allowed his sister to come with Team Arrow to Nanda Parbat.

Despite the high level of preparation that team Arrow had been going through for this upcoming mission, the stakes of this excursion to Nanda Parbat, and the obstacles they would probably face there, were enough to make everyone nervous. Perhaps this was why, as the plane engine started to hum just before Team Arrow, sans Felicity and Diggle, but adding Lyla and Thea, Isabel turned to Oliver and shouted. "It's still not too late to ask the Batman for help you know! He practically offered to team up with you the night of the QC Christmas party!"

Oliver shook his head. "Please! A man with major abandonment issues, billions of dollars, and a huge motivation to seek vengeance on the criminal element in Gotham City, disappears for seven years. Then, at the exact same time as he comes back to Gotham, a crazy dude dressed up like a bat, with tons of very expensive, military-grade equipment which is just up Wayne Enterprise's alley, like the so-called Bat mobile and Bat-wing, starts bashing in criminal's heads? I pegged that Bruce Wayne was Batman in less than five minutes after reading about the 'Caped Crusader's' recent exploits on the other side of the country! It's kind of sad, really, that the man actually thinks he has a secret identity. Anyway, it's bad enough that Oliver Queen and Isabel Rochev are going to be associating with Bruce Wayne on a regular basis now that Wayne Enterprises has invested so much money In Queen Consolidated! But if the Arrow and Midnight Sentinel start teaming up with the Batman, it probably won't take people too long to figure out who we are!"

Oliver shook his head and continued speaking, even as the stealth aircraft he was in took off with a modified Team Arrow, as well as the bodies of Nyssa al Ghul, and Tommy and Rebecca Merlyn onboard. "No, Isabel. I would rather not risk bringing the Batman, who we don't even know really, along. I prefer to keep things more subtle than he does. That's why I use motorcycles and a bow and arrow while I fight crime, instead of a bunch of flashier equipment and vehicles like Bruce…"

Isabel mentally rolled her eyes as her boyfriend continued his rant about how Bruce Wayne was bad at having a secret identity while she thought to herself. 'Please. The Batman can't be that dumb, since he obviously figured out you were the Arrow before inviting you to his company's Applied Science's division, and this large jet isn't much more subtle than anything Bruce fights crime in, even if we are taking off from an abandoned airfield on the edge of Starling City!'

…

* * *

The mission to Nanda Parbat went well…at first. The ARGUS jet that Lyla had managed to "borrow" from her employer was apparently unnoticed by the League of Assassins, since Team Arrow was able to land within 10 miles of the League's base without being greeted by a hostile "welcoming committee", courtesy of Ra's al Ghul. Sara was then able to approach the League's fortress, with the body of her deceased lover in tow, and request an audience with the Demon. A request that was granted shortly thereafter. Then, the Canary had given Ra's al Ghul the head of Malcolm Merlyn, and explained that the Dark Archer had killed Nyssa, and that Sara had retaliated by killing the man who had killed the Daughter of the Demon.

As expected, Ra's al Ghul had not been happy that Sara, who was no longer a member of the League of Assassins, had trespassed the League's rules by returning to Nanda Parbat, but the Demon's displeasure for this offense was outweighed by the man's anger at Malcolm Merlyn, especially after he was told that the Dark Archer had killed his daughter. Therefore, The Demon decided to absolve Sara of her "crime" of returning to his mountain fortress after the Canary showed the head of the League of Assassins the body of Nyssa, and explained how the "preservation casket" that Malcolm Merlyn had commissioned had kept Nyssa's body preserved. As Sara had hoped, Ra's al Ghul immediately ordered his servants to take her daughter's body to the Lazarus Pit, then reluctantly granted the Canary's request to attend the resurrection ceremony, out of respect for his daughter's former relationship to the Canary.

Within minutes, after Sara had participated in the process of resurrecting a very confused Nyssa, who, to Ra's al Ghul's chagrin, remembered no one except Sara, the Canary attempted to sneak away to the rest of Team Arrow and tell them what she had learned about how the Lazarus Pit worked after watching a resurrection ceremony for the first time. Unfortunately, that was when the whole plan went straight to hell.

As it turned out, even though Team Arrow had used a stealth aircraft to reach Nanda Parbat, one of the League's scouts, who were not dependent upon using modern radar, had spotted the ARGUS jet coming towards their base a mile away. The only reason that Team Arrow wasn't killed immediately after landing near the League base was because the Demon had ordered his men to hold their fire after that same scout reported that Oliver's team had the body of his daughter, who had been missing for weeks, with them. After this report had come in, Ra's had taken a "wait and see" approach with the newest intruders to his mountain sanctuary. However, he had gotten a pretty good idea of what Team Arrow had been planning after another one of his spies reported seeing the team guarding the bodies of two other individuals in caskets identical to the one Nyssa had been placed in. And Sara had confirmed his suspicions when she had attempted to sneak away from the League's fortress while using her communications device to tell Oliver that she was going to meet up with the rest of the group to help them sneak the bodies of Tommy and Rebecca Merlyn back to the Lazarus Pit after sundown in order to resurrect those two individuals.

After the spy the Demon had assigned to follow Sara relayed this information to Ra's, the Leagues' leader had sent out two squads of his best men. One squad to capture the Canary, who he intended to re-integrate into the League "by any means necessary" (since he had a sneaking suspicion Nyssa would try to kill him if he had Sara killed outright), and another to kill all of her companions. The first squad succeeded in fulfilling their objective, and within a couple of minutes of engaging the Canary, who put a great fight and actually managed to incapacitate three of the Demon's soldiers with her staff, the assassins were successfully able to cage the Canary and bring her before Ra's al Ghul.

Unfortunately, the second squad that the Demon sent out to intercept Team Arrow at the rendezvous point two miles from the ARGUS jet, was also partially successful.

Team Arrow put up quite a fight against the assassins who had been sent against them, all of whom were using ancient weapons like crossbows, staffs, and swords. They were able to incapacitate many of the League assassins sent after them with a combinations of Oliver, Thea and Roy's skills with a bow, and Isabel's skills with her sword (the hilt of which she used to knock several assassins unconscious) and a tranq gun. In fact, at first, Team Arrow was doing so well that Oliver was seriously considering the insane option of just forgoing stealth and having his team attempt to fight through Ra's forces and take the League's Headquarters by force in order to rescue Sara and resurrect Tommy and his mother.

But the grim reality of his team's situation hit the Arrow as what seemed like countless reinforcement assassins arrived to help the group who had been sent to kill team Arrow, and many of the reinforcements were using modern weapons that the League used only sparingly, such as a sniper rifle, several machine guns, and even a rocket launcher. When Oliver saw that the tide of the battle was turning against his team, he ordered Team Arrow to fall back to the Argus jet. Unfortunately, the two miles between the team and their only method of escape from the island was an impossibly long slog when they were constantly being attacked from all sides by assassins that had them outnumbered and outgunned.

Even so, no one in Team Arrow gave into despair, and they continued to make their way forward even as Lyla took off in her employer's jet and started to come toward Oliver's team to extract them. All the while, the team of heroes were pushed to the limits of their abilities (as Isabel used her super senses to predetermine the trajectories of bullets and deflect them away from herself and her teammates with her sword, sending the ricocheting pieces of metal towards several assassins at high speeds) and their morals (as Oliver was forced to kill the assassin with the sniper rifle, who only had his head exposed from behind a boulder, as the assassin was about to shoot Roy, and some of the bullets Isabel deflected hit assassins in vital areas). However, after the ARGUS jet finally landed several yards ahead of Team Arrow, it seemed that Team Arrow had finally caught a break, and everyone started darting towards the vehicle that was their only possible source of salvation from the League of Assassins right now.

Unfortunately, Thea, who had been the farthest from the jet when it came down, feel behind as she tripped over a rock because she wasn't watching where she was going. As a result, Thea ended up falling to the ground with what Isabel could already tell, based upon her superior sense of hearing, was a sprained ankle. After the Midnight Sentinel mentally cursed herself for allowing Thea to come along when she knew her trainee was not yet ready for the mission, she told Roy to go retrieve his girlfriend while she and the Arrow provided the younger couple cover with their weapons. The Red Arrow quickly did as he was told while Oliver and Isabel fired arrows and tranquilizer darts respectfully, at any assassins that tried to attack Roy or Thea. After Roy helped a limping Thea into the jet, Isabel signaled for Oliver to get on the plane next. Oliver reluctantly started to do so, when a single rocket from a rocket launcher started heading straight for Isabel!

Thankfully, the assassin who had fired the shot was unused to wielding such heavy, modern weaponry, and the high speed winds that were blowing in the Hindu Kush mountain ranges threw his aim off just enough that Isabel was able escape the edge of the blast zone. However, the heat and noise that came with the loud BOOM! Sound was able to throw off Isabel's senses for several seconds. This brief window of helplessness on Isabel's part was just long enough to leave the Midnight Sentinel vulnerable to the aim of one of the League of Assassin's archers. The assassin's arrow did not hit Isabel's heart, as he had intended it too, because the woman had been stumbling around in an unpredictable pattern of movement in her compromised state. Unfortunately, the arrow that grazed Isabel's side was enough to shoot a strange kind of pain that the Midnight Sentinel had never felt before throughout Isabel's whole body…a pain that sent the brunette crashing to the ground in agony.

Oliver Queen blacked out for five after that, as the man began operating on pure instinct after seeing his girlfriend wounded in battle. Therefore, the Arrow didn't even remember killing the assassins who had shot at Isabel with a rocket launcher and bow and arrow, respectfully, with his own arrows. Nor did he remember carrying Isabel over his shoulder onto the ARGUS jet, or that jet taking off with a jet of oil leaking behind it where an assassin had scored a lucky hit from the engine. Or Roy, Thea and Lyla explaining to a frantic Felicity and a concerned Diggle that Isabel had been shot, and was now in critical condition. He didn't even remember Lyla setting the plane onto autopilot and coming towards the back of the ship to assess Isabel's injuries.

Therefore, the next thing that Oliver remembered happening after his girlfriend collapsed to the ground after being dinged by an arrow, was that he was stroking Isabel's hair and staring into her hazel eyes, which were slowly beginning to become vacant and yellow around the edges, while Lyla was bandaging Isabel's wounds and trying to gently explain that she had seen people being poisoned like this before and…

The Arrow's brain finally latched on to that statement from Lyla, while the emerald archer mostly ignored Thea, who was crying into her boyfriend's shoulders that "this is all my fault!"

Oliver glared up at Lyla, who actually took a step back after seeing the pain and rage in the archer's eyes as the man began to speak. "Wait! Are you saying Isabel has been poisoned?! Is she going to be okay?!"

Lyla sighed, and pointed towards Isabel's bandaged wound, which Oliver only now decided to take a look at. Therefore, it was only at that moment that the Arrow noticed his co-CEO's wound was leaking a strange, dark yellow liquid out from underneath her bandage. As the emerald archer was registering this for the first time, the ARGUS agent spoke in a solemn tone while shaking her head. "The Midnight Sentinel is most certainly poisoned. I've seen this kind of wound before, just once, on another victim of the League of Assassins. It's a very exotic toxin, made from ingredients only found in Nanda Parbat, which the assassins sometimes coat their weapons with. There is no known antidote. And the poison is very deadly. So deadly that I would tell you that Isabel is going to die, only…the poison usually kills its victims within five second after it makes contact with a person's bloodstream. But Isabel is still alive more than five minutes after being exposed, so I don't know if…"

"She has a healing factor!" Oliver responded to Lyla's words in a harsh tone of voice before he looked back into Isabel's eyes and spoke in a more tender tone. "Right, Isabel?! You aren't going to die because you are a meta-human with a healing factor! And you promised me you were going to live through this! You promised!"

Oliver didn't even realize he was crying until Isabel, with a great amount of effort that the emerald archer could spot in his lover's face, lifted her arm upward and wiped some of his tears away, even as the brunette spoke in a weak, sickly voice that broke Oliver's heart, despite the false bravado that the hazel-eyed woman with her head in his lap tried to put into her voice. "I did. I promised you I would live…. I promised Connor…."

Isabel was breathing heavily at this point, but she refused to stop speaking, despite Lyla and Oliver's entreaties for her to do so. "Your son called me mommy, Oliver…made me promise to come back. I have to live through this. For you, and for Connor, and for…"

Isabel seemed to lose her ability to speak then, as her body started convulsing. The seizures continued, off and on, for the next hour, as Oliver continued holding onto Isabel and begging her to live. Every now and again, the brunette in the archer's arms would nod her head, as the Midnight Sentinel stared into the Arrow's eyes, the eyes that had helped Oliver start saving the former villainess from herself, as long as she could. Isabel did this until her eyes couldn't stay focused anymore as her hazel orbs were covered with something yellow. Shortly thereafter, the heroine's eyes closed of their own accord as the Midnight Sentinel's strength finally failed her.

Several seconds after Isabel stopped moving, Lyla took the Midnight Sentinel's pulse, then shook her head at Oliver sadly, but the Arrow had already known the terrible truth in his gut before the ARGUS operative had even put her hand on his girlfriend neck.

Isabel Rochev was dead again.

The undeniable truth of this fact made Oliver burst into tears, and the man cried even harder after he touched Isabel's stomach for several seconds. At this point, the Arrow was very aware that he was openly weeping in front of Lyla, Roy, and his sister, but he just couldn't seem to care what his team's reactions to him breaking down would be at that particular moment.

Everyone left Oliver Queen, who was still crying alone in a corner of the jet's cockpit while absentmindedly stroking his dead girlfriend's hair, alone for the next hour, even after it became apparent that the jet had a fuel leak due to the engine getting shot before, and that the team would need to dump some of their gear overboard if they wanted the jet to get them back to Starling City in one piece. The team just silently dumped all of their gear out the back off the jet off the loading area. And even when Thea asked her brother to give her his bow and quiver of arrows to throw off the plane, Oliver did so without even looking up at his sister.

It was only after it became apparent that the ARGUS jet was still losing too much fuel after the team had abandoned all of their gear that Thea approached Oliver with a hobble on her bad ankle, put a gentle hand on her brother's shoulder, and said. "Oliver. I know you are in a lot of pain right now. I understand that, and I want you to know that I feel it's my fault that Isabel is gon…"

Oliver wouldn't even let his sister finish that sentence as he looked up at this little sister with tears in his eyes. "This isn't your fault, Thea. It's mine. I shouldn't have let you or Isabel go with us. I had a bad feeling about this mission, and I knew I shouldn't let you and her come with me and Roy, but I allowed it anyway I'm the leader of this team. It was my call to make, and I allowed you both to come. Therefore, it's my fault that Isabel is dead…"

Thea hugged her brother, and it was only then that Oliver noticed his sister had tears in her eyes, and that she was grieving Isabel's death too, as the younger woman spoke. "Don't say that! Look, it doesn't matter whose fault it is! The point is that the Midnight Sentinel's death is a tragedy! And I'm sorry, Oliver, I'm so, so sorry…but we need to throw her body off the plane and into the ocean now. We have a fuel leak, and if we don't take some weight off the jet, we won't have enough fuel to make it to Starling City alive!"

Oliver pulled away from Thea and glared at her, before he looked down at Isabel, then raised his head to look behind Thea, at something the younger Queen couldn't see. "I'm sorry."

Thea shook her head sadly. "You don't have to apologize to Isabel for throwing her body off of the plane, Ollie. She would understand…"

Oliver's eyes darkened, and there was something wild, almost manic in her brother's eyes that made Thea turn away before her brother looked at Isabel again. "I wasn't apologizing to her…"

The Arrow pointed towards one of the two caskets that was still in the jet, the one that held Rebecca Merlyn. "I was apologizing to her!"

Oliver Queen then quickly rose to his feet, and before anybody could stop him, he quickly ran over to the "coffin" of Rebecca Merlyn, whose body Oliver noted, was slightly heavier than Isabel's body, although Tommy's mom had been far from fat, and the man hit the release button on the side of said coffin, and opened the casket of his best friend's mother and took the long-dead woman's body in his arms. "I'm sorry about this, ma'am. But I doubt you would want to live to see what your husband became after you died, anyway. And Tommy always told me that you used to love the ocean so…."

Without another word, Oliver brought Rebecca Merlyn's body to the back of the ARGUS jet and tossed the corpse out of the plane and into the ocean far below. Nobody tried to stop the Arrow from doing this. Nor did they try to stop Oliver Queen from taking Isabel Rochev's body and placing it in the "preservation casket" that Rebecca Merlyn's body had been in moments before. After the casket closed with a loud "HISS!" after all the air was sucked out of the casket, and the container became hermetically sealed and Oliver didn't know what else, the Arrow placed his hand on the transparent lid of the casket that housed his dead lover's body. "I'm not giving up on you yet, Isabel! If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to make sure you keep your promise to come home alive! If it's the very last thing that I do…"

Nobody dared to say a word to the now wild-eyed Oliver for the next hour that it took before the jet got close to the airfield. Nor did anyone dare try to dump either of the remaining preservation caskets, or the dead bodies of Isabel Rochev and Tommy Merlyn within them, for fear of provoking the Arrow's wrath, even after it became apparent that the jet's current rate of fuel consumption was going to make the landing outside of Starling City a close matter. This conclusion was confirmed, however, when Lyla looked in alarm once more at the jet's fuel gauge as the ARGUS jet neared the airfield, and the agent shouted. "Strap on your safety belts everybody, we are going to have to go in for a crash landing!"

 **AN: I'm so, so sorry for leaving you here, dear readers! But as Oliver's words indicate, this tale of Olibel isn't over yet! First of all I would like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed my story so far, especially those who reviewed my last chapter, including, in no particular order, Pootamis, Troll99, highlander348, Phillipe363, and WinterRain36! Your input and continued support are greatly appreciated!**

 **I have a lot to say about this chapter! To get the obvious out of the way, this chapter, and the one before it, are kind of dark, and I know I'm killing people left and right at this point (some of them more than once), but I ask that everyone bear with me. I promise you, there is a method to my madness (or is it madness to my method?), an all of this violence is serving a point for the overall plot.**

 **Also, I am sorry if anybody found my "explanation" for why this story's timeline is different than the one on the show boring and/or implausible, but I thought an explanation would be needed for why things were different in my story, and that knowing why that was might be mildly entertaining. I also think my working theory of time travel makes just as much (non)sense as the one on the Flash. I hope nobody was offended by my not so subtle jab at Batman's secret identity. I actually like Batman a lot, in the movies (except for Batman and Robin), the comics, and even some of the cartoons. He's one of my favorite superheroes. But come on, if someone like him existed in real life, somebody would figure out who he was within five minutes, especially in our age, when so much personal information is so easy for the general public to get to. That's just my opinion.**

 **Thanks again to all of my readers for their views, reviews, and input for this story! You readers are the ones who inspire me to put so much work into my stories, and I appreciate all of you! And a big thank you to my beta-reader, without whom this story would be as ugly and uneven as Two-Face's well…face. Your help is greatly appreciated!**

 **Until next time, I am…**

 **-supercode**


	10. Riding Into Darkness

**Everything's gone in life,**

 **Nothing is left,**

 **It's been so long**

 **Since I've seen the young maiden,**

 **My love is stronger than my fear of death.**

 **-Exert from the song, "EL Paso", written and performed by Marty Robbins**

Oliver Queen noticed the plane crash that occurred in the early morning on December 27th, of course. He would have to have lost at least 3 of his five major senses not to have noticed it.

However, throughout the entire crash landing, from when the ARGUS jet started shaking on the way down to the runway as the engines started to die while Lyla still frantically attempted to stabilize the jet, to the moment the engine finally gave out and set the plane into a free fall apart from Lyla's limited steering and engaging of the landing equipment, and even throughout the moment that the jet roughly touched down onto the airfield on the edge of Starling City and bounced almost 1/8 of a mile to a complete stop, before stopping a few inches shy of hitting the walls of a hanger, the Arrow only noted all of these moments on the edge of his awareness. Even when Thea was screaming on the way down, holding on to her boyfriend, Roy, most of the emerald archer's attention was diverted elsewhere, despite the fact that some distant part of Oliver's mind, mostly detached from the man's present awareness, was worried for his sister's welfare. Instead, most of Oliver Queen's attention during the plane crash was diverted to a single clear casket, and the dead body of Isabel Rochev within that container.

The Arrow used his arms to steady the already strapped down "preservation casket" as best he could while he was seated and buckled up, bracing for the impact of the inevitable plane crash. Even after the crash landing was over, after it had been determined that every living person in the jet was alive and not seriously injured, Oliver still held his grip on Isabel's container for almost a minute. For that length of time, the man continued to look down at the woman who he knew, without a shadow of doubt, was the One, the love of his love, despite the short amount of time that the Arrow had actually been in a relationship with the Midnight Sentinel.

That truth was something that Oliver had subconsciously known for a while now, since just before he had bought an engagement ring weeks ago. A ring which had nearly ended his relationship with the brunette. Somehow, Oliver just now realized, he had known, even back then, that Isabel Rochev was the woman he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. And even now, with her dead, Oliver knew that was still the case. That somehow, someway, he was going to get the brunette back, and bring her home, and grow old with the woman in the casket he was looking at now, until the day he died.

The Arrow knew that this feeling didn't make much sense. That there were a number of seemingly insurmountable obstacles that should, logically, make it impossible for that future to come to pass. But Oliver Queen didn't let his thoughts dwell on those obstacles, or let them dampen his resolve that he would still make a bright future between himself and Isabel happen. Because the emerald archer had a plan to make it happen.

It was at least a half-mad plan, to be sure, Oliver silently acknowledged to himself as he continued to stare at Isabel's body (he refused to think of it as her corpse now), even while his teammates began to worry for Oliver's sanity. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that Isabel was the One.

There were just too many signs that pointed to that absolute, undeniable fact for Oliver Queen to ignore. Too many "impossible" obstacles that his relationship to the hazel-eyed woman that the archer had shared his heart, soul, and body with had already overcome: Isabel and him being enemies (both in the boardroom and on the streets) when they first met, her history with his family, him having a son, Isabel's qualms with the mere possibility of marriage, and even the fact that both he and Isabel had been utterly broken people, emotionally crippled by traumatic experiences and their own past mistakes. And the blonde billionaire knew that didn't even include the obstacles that he and Isabel had to overcome as the Arrow and the Midnight Sentinel, including defeating the likes of Slade Wilson and Malcolm Merlyn, and the (soon to be) Midnight Sentinel dying once previously.

But none of these were the reason that Oliver knew now, without a doubt, that Isabel Rochev was the person he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. No, what let Oliver know this truth was the amount of emotional agony that he had been in both times that Isabel had died, worse than he had felt after losing any of his other friends and loved ones, including Shado. Furthermore, now that the first wave of despair (Oliver knew there would be more) over Isabel's second death had ended, the emerald archer just felt hollow. Like almost nothing mattered anymore because he had already lost his world. Even the knowledge that his sister and friends had almost died in a plane crash, and that he had a son waiting for him at home who would be heartbroken by Isabel's passing as well, if he ever learned about it, just barely registered to Oliver on an emotional level. And the archer absolutely hated that. Hated knowing that, in his present state, he would be no good to anyone. Not as a son, or a brother, or a CEO, or a hero…or even a father. Not when he couldn't even bring himself to feel, at least to any extent that mattered.

Because Oliver was very aware that he was regressing. Going back to a place he was before he had meet Isabel, maybe even changing back into the dark man had had been when he had first left Hong Kong. And that was not a man who had any business having a family. He was a man who would only bring violence and danger into the lives of everyone he loved. But the Arrow knew he could not let it come to that again. Could not let himself become the man who had chosen to run away from his responsibilities to his family, or even the person who had kept his loved ones at arm's length after he came back from the island. Oliver could not afford to become that man again because he was a father now. But in order to be the person that his friends, family and loved ones deserved to have in their lives, Oliver Queen knew he needed Isabel back. For she had been the only woman who had been able to fully open up his heart after he came home from the island, and the blonde man knew he needed her back in his life if he was ever to open up his heart again.

Oliver Queen had said none of this to his teammates when he finally exited the ARGUS jet while carefully dragging both of the preservation caskets behind him. The grieving man said nothing to his worried sister or his friends as Diggle (who had rushed to the airstrip to meet his teammates earlier) and Lyla talked about what to tell Waller about why one of ARGUS' air craft was irreparably damaged. In fact, Oliver didn't speak at all, even after he and Roy loaded both Isabel and Tommy's caskets into the large vehicle Team Arrow had initially transported the caskets in. Instead, the Archer simply waited for Roy and Diggle to get in the car before driving away from the airfield, since he knew Lyla and Thea had brought their own vehicles before yesterday's disastrous mission.

Because Oliver knew none of his loved ones would understand why he needed to do what he was about to do in order to get Isabel back. That it wasn't because he loved Isabel more than his family. It was because, right now, it felt like the brunette was the only one that could make Oliver capable of feeling again at all. That could keep him from becoming the angry killing machine of Hong Kong, or the paranoid man, fresh from the island, who was sure that he needed to separate himself from the ones he loved as much as possible in order to protect them.

Only by getting Isabel back, Oliver knew, would he be able to make the voice of the latter man, the one who was now telling him he needed to stay away from people because he couldn't protect the people he loved if he was close to them, out of his head. That would be the only way he could prove to himself that he could have a life, with friends and loved ones, and still keep the people he cared about safe. The only way that **this** Oliver Queen's heart and mind would not end up as dark and messed up as those of the Dark Arrow.

When the Arrow got home, after Team Arrow had changed out of their uniforms, the man was instantly ambushed by his six-year old son, who was storming out of the Queen mansion to hug his father after he returned home while screaming "Daddy!", But he found he was barely able to respond to Connor, as he hugged his son in a way that, judging from the worried stares that his mother (who had come out to greet her children), and sister (who had arrived at the Queen Mansion just seconds after Oliver and Roy), were giving him, seemed as mechanical to them as it did to him. Connor, thankfully, did not notice this. However, the boy's next question made Oliver freeze up. "Daddy, where's Isabel?!"

Noticing that her brother still seemed to be in shock and was at a loss for words, Thea decided she would have to be the one to break the terrible news to her nephew. "Connor, Isabel is…"

"Sleeping." Oliver quickly found his voice (as mechanical as it now sounded) and spoke to his son, even as he gave his mother a look to let her know he was lying to his son now. "Isabel is sleeping. She got hurt, but she is going to be better very soon."

Connor gave his dad and aunt a quizzical look, as if he knew something was wrong, but wasn't sure what, before he looked back at his dad. "Can I see her? She promised me that she and I would talk about…"

Oliver quickly interrupted his son's words. "I'm sorry Connor, but Isabel isn't feeling well right now and she needs to rest. But you'll see her very soon, I promise."

Connor nodded his head sadly. "Okay. Is she still upset with me because I called her mommy or…"

It was at that point that Thea nearly burst into tears, but she was able to pass it off as "allergies" to her nephew. Oliver shook his head, "No, Connor. Isabel isn't mad at you about anything. She just can't talk to anyone right now because she isn't well."

The archer decided right then and there that his original plan, to have Thea distract Connor by playing with the young boy in his room for a while, would not be a good idea right now. So he turned to Roy, who hadn't been saying word since arriving at the Queen mansion, and moved on to "plan B." "Roy, why don't you play with Connor in his room for a little bit while I talk to my mother and sister?"

Oliver's tone of voice made it clear he was not really asking, and neither Roy nor Connor felt liking challenging the Arrow at the moment. Therefore, within seconds, Connor Hawke and his "uncle Roy" were entering the Queen mansion, heading towards Connor's room. The Arrow then turned to his mother and Thea, both of whom were aiming worried, inquisitive expressions towards Oliver Queen concerning exactly what was going on and what was going through his head to make him act so detached around his son while lying to him.

But Oliver didn't feel like answering those questions right now, so he simply said, "We'll talk later. I have two caskets with bodies in them that I really don't want Connor or Laurel to see right now. Can you two help me haul them to the basement?" Oliver was just glad that, since the Christmas debacle two days ago, Moira Queen had indefinitely suspended the employment of all her household staff until she could get more thorough background checks on all of them. He was even more glad when Moira told him she had forced Laurel (who hadn't slept at all on Christmas) to go to bed, and that the eldest Lance sister was currently sleeping, since she didn't expect Team Arrow to return to Starling City so soon. That meant there were a lot less people to sneak Isabel and Tommy's bodies past.

Oliver's mother and sister silently nodded, and helped their relative get the body of his girlfriend and his best friend down to the basement, a place Connor would not have access to because that door was almost always locked, since all of the Queen family's best alcohol was stored down there. After both of the caskets were secured in a safe place in the basement, Moira looked down for a moment at Isabel's "preservation casket" and sighed. Both Oliver and Thea were surprised to find that the Queen matriarch actually looked a little sad to see Isabel's dead body in the casket. "So Isabel…didn't make it home from this mission alive then?"

Thea shook her head sadly while Oliver continued to stare transfixed at Isabel's visage. The young woman also said, "No. And Sara was captured too. At least, we hope she was just captured."

The middle aged woman sighed and pointed to Isabel's body. "And you are sure that that…serum stuff, I can't remember the name. It won't be bringing her back this time?"

Oliver shook his head, although he was still looking down at Isabel's body. "Mirakuru. And no. The Mirakuru was entirely flushed out of her system the night we beat Slade Wilson. It can't bring her back this time."

Moira shook her head, and Thea could have sworn that Moira's eyes were a little moist for a second, but then her mother blinked, and the moment was gone so fast that her daughter was sure she had imagined it. "Connor is going to be heartbroken. You know that right, Oliver? You and Isabel were his favorite people in the whole world. And now she's dead, and you just lied to your son about…."

Now Oliver did raise his head and shot a challenging look at his mother. "I didn't lie. Not really. Isabel is clearly not well. But she is going to be better soon, I will make sure of it. I am going to use the Lazarus Pit to bring her back. Her and Tommy. That part of the plan hasn't changed. I'm going to rescue Sara, too. And I am going to do all of that tonight."

Moira shook her head emphatically. "No! You are not going back to that…that mountainous death trap again! At least not tonight! Give it a few weeks, and you, Diggle, Lyla and I can gather together enough resources that your next trip to Nanda Parbat won't be another suicide mission. Because it sounds like you should have taken more time to get a better strategy in place last time…"

Thea nodded her head in agreement, but Oliver calmly shook his head. "We don't have weeks. I know more about the League than either of you do because of my travels when I was in exile. And the assassins are…vindictive. We trespassed on their property, tried to use the Lazarus Pit without the Demon's permission, and killed several of their men. And for all of that, they will come to kill every member of team Arrow that survived that mission, and probably all of our adult friends and family as well. Including you. That would leave Connor an orphan again. And the assassins will probably come to do all of that within a week. I'm not going to just sit around and wait for that to happen."

Thea shook her head in confusion. "But we only killed some of theirs because they attacked us first!"

Oliver still wore a stoic expression as he spoke in a monotone voice. "But they won't see it that way, Thea. They think we were trying to invade their home, and we killed some of their people while they were defending it. They will want vengeance for that."

The Queen matriarch raised her voice slightly. "Then that's all the more reason for us to stay here, and quickly get as many reinforcements as we can to defend our families…"

Oliver shook his head. "And then we may die anyway. The League are professionals. We may not be able to see them coming. Not all of them anyway."

The Arrow continued to speak in a monotone voice as he added. "That's why I need to strike first. They won't be expecting me to come back to Nanda Parbat so soon after losing a battle. And that gives me an advantage. Besides, without Sara, I have no way of knowing how to operate the Lazarus Pit. I need to persuade Ra's to show me how do so in order to bring Isabel and Tommy back. For that, I will actually have to go to Nanda Parbat in person."

Moira shook her head in bewilderment and sighed. "Look, Oliver. I know you know more about battle strategy and tactics than I do, but after this last mission, I have a really bad feeling about you going out there to Nanda Parbat again, do you understand? Especially if your plan is to bargain with Ra's. If he is half as vindictive as you say he is, I still think we might have a better shot of survival if we all stay here in Starling, were I can get SCPD to help defend us, and Diggle and Lyla can try to get as many ARGUS agents as possible to help. And you owe it to your family. To me, and Connor, and Thea, here, to do whatever gives us all the best odds of survival."

The challenge was still in Oliver's eyes as he looked at his mother. "Then what about Isabel, Tommy, and Sara? How are we going to get them back if we all stay here, wait for death to come, and just hope that we have enough resources to stave off Ra's men? Can you answer me that, mom?"

Moira shrugged and sighed. "I guess we don't. I'm sorry. I know you loved Isabel, Oliver, and believe it or not, she and I were starting to get along too. I also know everyone in this house loved Tommy, and the Lance's have always been friends of this family. But it sounds to me like, if the Queen family is to have a good chance of survival, we may need to just stay here and accept Sara's capture, Isabel and Tommy's deaths…"

At this point, Thea, who had been mostly silent during this whole argument between her brother and mother, not knowing whose side to take, crossed her arms and glared at her mother. "There is no way in hell that is going to happen, mom! In case you've forgotten, Malcolm Merlyn is my biological father, and that means that Tommy is my brother, just as much as Oliver is! And I am not going to let my brother, or Isabel, who is both my mentor and my friend, stay dead! Nor will I be leaving Sara behind. That settles it! Oliver, Roy, and I are going to Nanda Parbat again to try to get them back!"

Oliver nodded. "I obviously agree with you, Thea. We are not leaving Isabel and Tommy dead, or leaving Sara behind."

Moira sighed and shook her head at her two children. "You two always were stubborn. But tell me this. I understand why the two of you want to bring back Sara and Tommy so badly. But Isabel? Despite all the things she had done for us lately, and as grateful as I am for that, she is not technically part of this family! You two shouldn't be risking your lives, all of our lives, for…"

Oliver glared at his mother then, and this time, the man's mother saw something dark and angry in the archer's eyes that she had never seen in her son's gaze before. Something that frightened her enough that she felt compelled to look away from her offspring. Seconds later, the emerald archer spoke in a tone that conveyed both sadness and anger, although Moira was smart enough to know most of that anger was not directed at her. A tone of voice that, above all, sounded just…broken to Moira and Thea Queen's ears. "Isabel was pregnant, mom! We found out a few weeks ago. She was going to have my child, or one of them, anyway. You were going to have another grandchild! And in my book, that makes Isabel part of this family!"

Now, Moira Queen did allow a few tears to fall down her face, as her denial over being sad about Isabel's death finally broke. "Are you sure that she was pregnant, Oliver?"

Oliver nodded. Thankful that his mother hadn't questioned Isabel's loyalty to him by asking if he was sure the baby was his. He wasn't sure he would be able to stop himself from directing a verbal tirade at the Queen matriarch if she did that. "Yeah, we were sure. We had STAR labs take a look at Isabel shortly after she missed her period. They ran a whole bunch of tests and…Isabel is…was, definitely pregnant. And, even though I didn't ask him to, Cisco even ran a DNA test and…let's just say that the baby is definitely mine and that Cisco had a bump on his head for about a week thereafter."

Oliver looked down at Isabel's body and stroked the top of the container she was in, right about Isabel's stomach. "We weren't sure about the gender yet, obviously, so we don't know how if I was going to have another son or a daughter, but…"

"So that's why Isabel hasn't been drinking lately. I thought that was odd." Moira mused aloud to herself, although the sad look in the older woman's eyes undermined her casual tone of speech.

Tears streamed down Oliver's face for several seconds after the man nodded, but the Arrow quickly wiped them away before Thea, who also had tears streaming down her face, spoke in a gentle, curious tone of voice that she was doing her best not to make sound accusing. "Oliver, I am so sorry. But…If you knew Isabel was pregnant, why didn't the two of you tell us before? Did you tell Connor he was going to have a brother or sister …were you not sure if you wanted to carry it to term?"

The Arrow shook his head. "No. That wasn't the issue. Isabel and I decided we wanted to keep the baby as soon as we found out she was pregnant, despite whatever inconveniences the timing of the pregnancy might give us in our professional and vigilante lives. The problem was that we weren't sure if we would be able to. You see…the baby was…." Oliver coughed. "Conceived when Isabel still had the Mirakuru in her system…" The Arrow did not volunteer the info that he believed it had been the Mirakuru in Isabel's system at the time that had chemically negated Isabel's birth control medication, and thus, allowed the pregnancy to happen to begin with.

The emerald archer was deep in thought as he added, "And we didn't know if that serum in Isabel's system at the time would have an impact on the pregnancy. Even the scientist at STAR labs didn't know if our child would…will survive long enough to be born, although all the tests they conducted as of yesterday indicated our child was developing normally. But…we just didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. And I still don't, because I don't know if we will be able to resurrect mine and Isabel's unborn child in the womb with the Lazarus Pit, but…I certainly hope that will be the case…"

Moira gave Oliver a look of both sadness and understanding, then nodded. "I hope so too. I understand now. I'm sorry that I said what I did about Isabel not being part of this family."

Oliver just nodded. He didn't say that what his mother had said before was "okay." Because it wasn't, but he decided to let it go for now.

Moira continued speaking. "Just know that, whatever your plan is for tonight, Oliver. I support it. Do what you need to do to bring Tommy, Isabel, and Sara and if possible, my grandchild back."

Oliver, who had regained his composure, nodded. "I will."

The emerald archer then briefly sighed, and quickly spoke in a sad tone of voice before a stoic expression returned to his face. "I didn't want Isabel to come on the last mission, but she wouldn't let me leave her behind. She refused to leave my side, right up to the end, even though she knew she was pregnant, because she trusted that I could keep her and our baby safe. And I failed her. I will not fail her again."

Thea tried to lay her hand on her brother's shoulder. "What happened wasn't your fault, Oliver."

But the Arrow pulled away from his sister's touch. "Of course it was. And now I have to be the one to make it right."

Oliver began to walk towards the exit to the basement while speaking over his shoulder to his sister and mother. "I'll need to be left alone for a while now. I need time to fine tune my strategy and prepare myself for tonight."

Thea nodded her head. "Okay. Just let Roy and I know when everything is ready so that we will have time to gear up to go to Nanda Parbat again."

The blonde billionaire just nodded. He had no intention of telling Thea or Roy that he was not going to let them go on this mission. Oliver was not about to let another one of his friends or family members die for him. This time, the Arrow would deal with the Demon himself, one way or another.

Before Oliver could leave the room, however, Moira Queen also spoke. "What should I tell Laurel when she wakes up then? What do I say to Connor? Eventually he's going to want to see Isabel, or know why you, Thea and Roy are leaving again."

The archer nodded. "Let me know when Laurel wakes up, and I will talk to her myself. As for Connor…" Oliver looked at both Moira and Thea for a long second. "I will need the two of you to keep my son distracted as long as possible, because I don't know how long it will be before I can return. My son has already lost one mother figure in his life, and I don't want him to find out he had lost another, especially since I am going to get this one back. But I can't…I can't talk to him right now. Not when I'm like this. I don't expect anyone to understand, but…I need to focus on getting Isabel, Sara and Tommy back now. I can't have any distractions, even good ones, clouding my judgement with excess emotion. I need to focus on the mission."

Moira and Thea Queen looked at Oliver, then at each other, with a concerned expression on their face. And they both knew they were thinking the same thing. Oliver was acting just like he had right after being rescued from the island over a year ago. Once again, their relative was acting distant, angry, and he was pushing the people that loved him away. And that made Oliver's relatives afraid that the Oliver that had become close to his family again over a month ago, the man who had told his family his secret identity in order to hold the Queen family together, might be lost to them forever if the Arrow failed to revive the Midnight Sentinel and his unborn child.

Their fears were somewhat mollified, however, when Oliver briefly stuck his head back into the basement and briefly spoke before leaving the for the Queen mansion proper again. "By the way, mom. You should really try to get in touch with the orphanage and see if they would allow Connor's friend Anna, the red haired girl who came to my son's party, visit the Queen Mansion again. She was my son's best friend at the orphanage, and I think Connor may even have a small crush on her, so…her presence might help keep him occupied for however long it takes me, Isabel, Sara and Tommy to get back from Nanda Parbat. Just a thought."

* * *

A couple hours later, Felicity Smoak was standing in front of an antique oak desk in a home office that had, once upon a time, belonged to Robert Queen. An office which had been commandeered by that man's son since early this morning. The Arrow had placed several maps that the Canary had provided him, and notes that that Sara Lance had written down, on the layout, secret passageways, and structural weaknesses of the League of Assassin's fortress on Nanda Parbat, all around the room. And Oliver was still pouring over several of these pieces of paper, some of which were on his father's old desk, and some of which were on top of filing cabinets or inserted into the wall with thumbtacks, as he finished his conversation with his executive assistant and I.T. specialist, who had just finished drying some tears that she had shed several minutes ago. "That's what I want you to tell Barry. That's the deal I'm offering him."

Felicity nodded with an uncertain look on her face as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. "That's what you want me to tell him?"

The Arrow nodded, still looking down at some of the blue prints to the League's fortress. "Word for word."

Felicity nodded hesitantly. "Okay, Oliver, but I'm not sure the Flash would be willing to take that deal. What you're proposing….This thing you want Barry to help you do…"

Oliver, still looking down, shook his head. "I'm really hoping it won't come to that."

Felicity sighed. "I understand that, but if it does…I'm not sure Barry would be willing to help you do something that dark. And I'm not sure I would blame him if he turned you down, to be honest. Oliver, what you're asking him to do…if things go south in Nanda Parbat…could be construed as murder."

Oliver finally looked up at Team Arrow's tech wizard with an intense look in his eyes. "What I am asking the Flash to do is necessary if I am going to have any hope of protecting all of the friends and loved ones I have left, much less bring Isabel, Sara and Tommy back. Maybe these measures wouldn't have been necessary if your boyfriend had deigned to actually join Team Arrow on our last mission to Nanda Parbat. If he had been there to help protect us, maybe we would have succeeded then…or at least been able to keep Isabel and Sara safe. But instead, Isabel got killed, Sara got captured, and the League is going to be at Starling City's door any day now to hunt us all down. And I will not let that happen!"

Oliver managed to temporarily banish the angry edge that had entered his voice when he noticed that Felicity had backed away a step from the desk he was sitting behind, apparently out of fear of her boss's current temperament. Although the Arrow did not apologize, or let Felicity know he felt guilty for scaring her, he still cared enough to lower his voice slightly when he spoke again. "What I am trying to convey to you right now, Felicity, is just how much I need your boyfriend's help with this upcoming mission. I need you to convince him to help me with this. Remind him that I will use some of my skills to frame some long dead convicted murderer for his mother's murder, and make sure that the police get that 'evidence' so Barry's dad will be released from prison, if he does this favor for me. Convey to him my personal guarantee that I will personally help him subdue this "Reverse Flash" if he shows up again, so that that man can be locked up in a containment cell at STAR labs until the day he dies. And please do not hesitate to mention that what I am asking Mr. Allen to do will be necessary to protect every one of Team Arrow's friends and loved ones. Including you."

Oliver looked pointedly at Felicity. " Not to mention that _if_ Barry doesn't perform the task I am requesting of him now, Barry Allen himself could, conceivably be targeted for assassination by the League for helping Team Arrow several times in the past."

Seeing where Oliver was going with his words, a newfound determination exhibited itself on Felicity's face as she spoke. "I understand. I will convince Barry to take the deal."

Although Oliver's face remained stoic, his eyes conveyed the very real appreciation he was feeling towards Felicity right now as he nodded his head. "Thank you."

Felicity sighed. "You're welcome. But I still want to talk to you about how you are processing everything that happened on Nanda Parbat, Oliver. You wouldn't let me get a word in after telling me exactly what happened, in detail, to Isabel, before you proceeded to tell me what you needed the Flash to do tomorrow. Are you doing okay? Because I'm always here to talk if you need me to. After all, Isabel was my friend and…"

Oliver shook his head. "No. No, I'm not okay, Felicity. Not even close. But I can't talk about this right now. Not 'don't want to'. I can't. I wouldn't even know where to begin. And I don't have time for this right now, anyway. I need to focus on this mission of insuring that everyone I care about stays safe and getting Isabel, Sara and Tommy back. I don't have time to talk about feelings right now."

Felicity nodded in understanding and turned to leave the room. "I understand. I will go deliver that message then…"

But Oliver's voice stopped his Executive Assistant in her tracks as the man pulled a piece of paper out of the desk in front of him. "Actually, there is one more thing I need from you, Miss Smoak. A form I need for you to sign."

Felicity looked at Oliver quizzically, but did as her friend, boss, and team leader asked with a pen that Oliver pulled out of his pocket and handed to Felicity. The tech expert, trusting Oliver, didn't even look at the writing on the official-looking document before she put her signature on the paper next to Oliver's own John Hancock, only noting that the form's header said **CEO LEAVE OF ABSENCE FORM** , before she signed her name to the document.

Therefore, the blonde tech expert was astonished when Oliver handed the form back to her and said. "Congratulations, Miss Smoak. Effective immediately, you are now the interim CEO of Queen Consolidated until Isabel and I return from Nanda Parbat. Until then, I know my family's company will be safe in your hands."

Without another word, Oliver Queen left the room while his bespectacled friend was still struggling to speak as her jaw dropped in shock. The Arrow knew that Felicity would have her doubts about her own ability to lead the company. But between Felicity's knowledge of Queen Consolidate's inner workings and structure, which actually exceeded his own, and the help that Moira Queen and the board of directors would doubtlessly supply the tech expert with, Oliver Queen had no doubt in his mind that Felicity would do an excellent job at running the company…for as long as she had to.

* * *

As soon as Oliver was in his own room, the man pulled the burner phone he used to conduct Arrow business out of his pocket and called a man. A person that the Arrow had sworn to himself that he would never ask for help on a mission. The Arrow shrugged. Desperate times and all of that. "Hello, Mr. Wayne!"

Oliver was pleasantly surprised when the man on the other end of the line picked up almost immediately after the first ring. "Oliver Queen! To what do I owe the pleasure of speaking to one of my most illustrious business associates tonight? Have you finally called to schedule that appointment to check out my companies Applied Science's Div…"

The Arrow cut the man off. "I will do that the first chance I get, Mr. Wayne. But I'm kind of in the middle of an important situation right now, to be honest. One that I think I could use your help with. Are you alone, and is this line secure?"

Bruce Wayne chuckled and spoke in a tone of voice that indicated he was obviously not alone at the moment. "Yeah, I know, right? This economy we're in really sucks, and the stock market is a total crapshoot right now…"

After almost a minute of silence, during which Oliver imagined that Bruce was making one excuse or another to go somewhere alone, Mr. Wayne started speaking again in a much different, more serious tone of voice. "I'm sorry, I had to escape from one of my social obligations. I'm alone now, and this line is secure. Can you say the same?"

Oliver smirked. "Obviously."

Bruce spoke again in the same serious tone. "What is this about, Mr. Queen?"

The Arrow decided he didn't have time to play games right now. "Well, first of all, I need the Batman's help right now, not Bruce Wayne's. So let's just get that out of the way."

After several more seconds of pause, the Dark Knight replied in a steely, determined, and somewhat perturbed tone of voice. "How were you able to find out who I am, Arrow?"

'Because I'm not a moron.' Oliver thought to himself. But what he said was, "I'll tell you that as soon as you tell me how you found out I was the Arrow, Batman."

Oliver could have sworn that Batman growled a little in anger before he spoke again. "Never mind. What do you need my help with?"

The emerald archer sighed. "It seems that some of my teammates have…let's just say my team got in over their heads on a mission to Nanda Parbat…"

Bruce sounded annoyed now. "So, you're saying you and your team had a death wish, then? Trying to take on the League all by yourselves on their home turf. With tactics like that, I can't believe that you and your team have survived this long."

Now it was Oliver who was growling a little, so the Caped Crusader changed the tone of the conversation. "It doesn't matter now, I guess. But you should have called me for help if you were planning to make a move on the League. I've been battling with that organization for over two years since my return to Gotham. My experience with fighting the Demon and his underlings…"

"Is what we need right now." The Arrow interrupted the other hero. "I admit I should have called you for help before, but I didn't. And now two of my teammates, and one of my friends, are…let's just say they are in trouble. The kind of trouble that we need to go to Nanda Parbat to fix."

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the line. "The Lazarus Pit. You were trying to get access to the Lazarus Pit, and you lost people trying to do that. Now your actions are starting to make more sense. But Oliver, you have to understand that, even if your team could get access to the Lazarus Pit, resurrecting people with it can have side effects. Side effects that vary from person to person…"

The blonde billionaire was really annoyed now. "I'm aware of the risks, Mr. Wayne. My team and I are willing to take our chances to bring some people that we care about back. And I don't care how smart you are. You aren't going to talk me out of trying!"

Batman sighed. "I know that, you Queens always were a stubborn brood, although I suppose that is one of the things that has kept you alive this long. But I'm afraid I still can't help you. I know the League's strategies and tactics very well…once upon a time, I even trained under Ra's al Ghul himself without knowing it. I won't waste time by filling in the details of that story. However, that was at another League base. I know nothing about Nanda Parbat except that it is the main base for the assassins, that it houses the Lazarus Pit, and that it is a fortress…"

The Arrow interrupted the Bat again. "The base itself is not the problem. I have received extensive Intel on the League's base in Nanda Parbat, including blue prints of that building, as well as the general patrol patterns of Ra's men. And I will also have an individual on my team this time, and individual with very special talents, who should be able to suitably distract all of Ra's al Ghul's forces for me to gain access to the Pit."

Bruce sounded impatient now. "The Flash. You're talking about the Flash. If you have Mr. Allen's help for this next mission, and as much Intel on Nanda Parbat as you claim, what exactly, do you need my help for?"

The Arrow shook his head, and privately wondered to himself how Bruce had been able to figure out so many other heroes' secret identities. "The problem is, I don't know how to use the Lazarus Pit to resurrect people, and the one person on my team that could have helped me with that may not even be alive anymore. Do you know how I would go about using the Pit?"

Batman took another deep breath. "No, I'm afraid not. But I think I see your problem now. With your experience and Intel, and the Flash's speed, you **might** be able to incapacitate Ra's and his men…but you would never, in a thousand years, get any of them to tell you how to operate the Lazarus Pit. I'm sorry, I still don't see how I can help."

The archer huffed. "That's not the problem, either. I have a…rough plan for making Ra's talk. But I need someone like you, someone with extensive knowledge of Ra's al Ghul's mindset, strategies, tactics, and everything, to help me with that. I need you to come with us. Tonight."

The Bat growled in irritation. "I can't help you tonight, Oliver. I'm sorry. I have to deal with a mad doctor who just might be trying to poison Gotham City with some kind of weaponized hallucinogen tonight. It could be several days before..."

The impatience was evident in the blonde man's words again now. "We may not have days! The League are going to be at my door, in Starling City, anytime now, since my Team ended up having to kill some of their members…"

"I don't approve of killing, Ol…"

"Look!" The Arrow interrupted the Bat yet again. "I don't like killing either, but my teammates and I did what we did because we had to protect each other! Also, the League felled the Midnight Sentinel, and…"

"You mean Isabel Rochev? I'm sorry, I know this is terrible timing, but I feel I need to tell you this before you hatch whatever high risk scheme you have to get instructions on how to use the Lazarus Pit, a scheme that just might get your entire team killed, to save Isabel. I did some research on Miss Rochev's past, and she had some business with your father…"

"I already knew about that, Bruce! Miss Rochev and I moved past that a long time ago! Besides, Isabel was pregnant with my child when she died! So, if it's the last thing I do, I will bring her and our unborn child, as well as another one of my friends, back! Could you please help me with that somehow!? I'm begging you, Bruce! Any aid you could provide could be invaluable!"

There was almost a minute of silence after that. A silence that lasted so long that Oliver almost thought that Bruce was going to hang up without replying, before the Batman spoke again. "Alright, then. Like I said, I can't help you deal with the League in person tonight, but I can provide you Intel on Ra's tactics that you might find helpful. Now, listen to me very carefully…"

* * *

Another hour later, Oliver Queen emerged from his room with a little more confidence in his upcoming mission's probability of success. Everything was proceeding as planned now. He had already made arrangements to get another vehicle that he could use to get himself and the "preservation caskets" to Nanda Parbat, he was expecting Barry Allen to call him any minute now to inform the Arrow that he would participate in tonight's operation, and he was armed to the teeth with intel on Ra's al Ghul, the League of Assassins, and Nanda Parbat thanks to the Canary and the Batman.

But none of these facts kept the Arrow from being somewhat nervous, especially since he still didn't know what had happened to Sara Lance at the League of Assassin's headquarters, and he had paid a high price to get the transportation he needed tonight. Also, the blonde billionaire guessed that the encounter he was about to have with a friend of his, who he had just spotted walking down the hall, wasn't going to help his nerves any.

"Good. You're awake. I'm guessing my mom gave you the strong sleep medicine, since you slept till well into the afternoon. I thought my mother threw those away shortly after she divorced Walter, but I guess I was wrong. How are you holding up, Laurel!?"

The brown haired woman stopped in her tracks upon hearing Oliver's voice, and the angry face of Laurel Lance told the Arrow exactly how his childhood friend was doing before she said a word. "How do you think I'm doing, Oliver!? The man I love is still dead, and your sister just told me that my sister was captured by a bunch of assassins, and may be dead too! I'm fan-fucking-tastic!"

The woman's friend nodded. "Right. Stupid question. I'm sorry. The only reassurance I can give you is that I still plan on bringing Tommy Merlyn back, and that I will do everything within my power to bring your sister home. I know that probably doesn't mean much right now, and that you are scared and in pain, but…"

The emerald archer's childhood friend crossed her arms. "Don't lecture me about pain, Oliver! I'm the one who has two loved ones gone, and both of them are probably dead right now, and…"

The billionaire quickly interrupted Laurel with an angry look on his face. "Isabel died on this last mission, trying to bring someone you loved back to life. I won't lecture you, but you'd better show me the same courtesy."

Laurel quickly brought her hand up to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Oliver! I didn't know that, because Thea didn't tell me, and I shouldn't have said that…"

Oliver nodded. "You're right. You shouldn't have. But it doesn't matter now. Because I'm going to bring Isabel and Tommy back to life, or die trying. I don't have time to talk to you about what happened, because I need to prepare to go back to Nanda Parbat again, tonight. However, I thought you would want to know I'm not giving up. I will bring Tommy and Sara, as well as Isabel, back here alive if it is the last thing I do."

Laurel nodded, then spoke before the Arrow could continue walking down the hallway. "Thank you, Oliver! You're a good friend. I'm sorry for freaking out on you like that. I think I'm just anxious because…all this important stuff is happening, involving people I really care about a lot, and I can't do anything to influence the outcome! I knew when I tried to volunteer to go with your team on the last mission that I didn't have enough experience to help on Nanda Parbat. But I just hate feeling so helpless!"

The arrow nodded without looking back to Laurel. "There's nothing I can do about that right now. Like you said, you aren't near ready to go on a mission like this, but…If…when, I come back to Starling City with Isabel, Tommy, and Sara…we can see about training you to fight, since you seem so determined to help your sister and Team Arrow with our vigilante business, and you should know what you are doing before we allow you to help with any of that."

Before Laurel could reply to her friend's words, the Arrow had already walked into another room of the house and closed and locked the door.

* * *

…Meanwhile, on Nanda Parbat….

The Canary glared at the two guards that stood in front of her holding cell, just out of reach of Sara's grasp, while trying not to show the two servants of the Demon in front of her just how frightened she was for herself…and for her friends, who she knew very well would try to rescue her soon. But the blonde woman was jarred out of her thoughts when one of her guards jabbed her in the side with a staff, a blow the Canary had been unable to see coming, since the outside of her cell was dark, even while the inside of her prison was dimly lit by a single torch. But the Canary just grunted, since she was unwilling to give the guard who had hit her the satisfaction of hearing her cry out in pain.

The thin, wiry assassin who had hit the Canary with a staff laughed. "I could do this all day, little bird! Ra's al Ghul specifically ordered us not to kill you, but he gave me free reign to do whatever else is necessary to convince you to come back to the League of Assassins!"

The more muscular guard who stood on the thin one's right side then added. "And we do mean anything, Sara Lance! And you know very well that we in the League have much more elaborate, more painful, methods of persuasion then simply hitting you with a staff. So why don't you save yourself a lot of pain and re-affirm your oath to serve Ra's al Ghul until the end of time?!"

The Canary spat in the general direction of the guard who just spoke, but this only caused said guard to laugh, since the Canary hadn't even been able to see the man in the darkness, and her spittle missed the mark by several feet. Despite her jailer's laughter, however, Sara Lance remained as defiant as ever. "I will never rejoin the League of Assassins! Like I told your master before, I am done killing people, especially those who don't deserve it!"

It was the thinner guard that laughed this time, and Sara could just barely make out the sight of the man dropping his staff and picking up a small, pointy metal object of a tray beside him that shinned as it dimly reflected the light from the Canary's cell. "Very well then, little bird! Truth be told, I'm glad you choose to do this the hard way! The hard way is more fun…for me, anyway!"

Before Sara could even think of a retort to her torturer's words, however, the Canary saw a slim, but muscular figure start to emerge from the shadows behind the two guards. The two assassins, to their credit, did seem to sense that someone was sneaking up behind them, and both men turned to look at the figure in the shadows….But they were too slow, as the shadowy figure moved far too quickly for the two guards to react, impaling the two men in the heart, one at a time, with a sword that Sara could just barely make out in the darkness.

The Canary's eyes widened in both shock and happiness as she recognized the blade that she had brought back to Nanda Parbat yesterday with the body of her former lover, Nyssa al Ghul. And sure enough, it was the daughter of the Demon herself who stepped out of the shadows now! The Dark haired woman then quickly took out a key that Sara guessed Nyssa had stolen from her father, and preceded to open the Canary's cell. Nyssa spoke in a hurried manner after Sara left her cell, even as the Daughter of the Demon handed the Canary the staff she had been wielding when she was captured. "You must hurry now, Ta-er al-Asfer. It will not be long before my father receives word that I have broken you out of your cell, and you must be long gone from this place by then."

"What…"Sara had a confused look on her face as she tried to ask her ex a question, but Nyssa interrupted the Canary's words while handing the blonde woman a small metal key. " There is no time for questions, Ta-er al-Asfer! You will need to take the passage on the Southeast side of this fortress that I showed you many years ago. And yes, I have already reacquired my memories, since I have been revived by the Lazarus Pit before, and its side effects no longer last as long with me! But that is not important now. What is important is that I have parked my personal plane there for you to escape in, but you must hurry if you want to get away before my father's men find out what you are doing! Go now!"

But Sara wouldn't budge from the spot she was standing in front of what had recently been her prison cell. "I don't understand! Why are you helping me escape?! You were the one that tried to bring me back here the last time you came to Starling City of your own free will…"

Nyssa nodded in a way that conveyed both slight nervousness at her and Sara's present situation, and sadness, due to her memories of the event that her ex was referring to now. "Yes. I remember that time well. You made it clear to me then that you would never return to my father's service when you tried to kill yourself, rather than allow me to return you to the League of Assassins. It was a foolish gesture, Ta-er al-Asfer, but you proved your point! I knew that you would not bow before my father again, no matter what your jailers did to you, and that the Demon would eventually lose patience with you and order you to be killed! I could not allow that to happen to you, beloved. I will not let my father's men hurt you! So now, I am helping you escape. Now, please go, before you are discovered!"

Sara shook her head. "I can't just leave now! My friends will be launching a rescue operation to save me any day now and…"

The daughter of the Demon shook her head. "I will send Oliver Queen and his friends a message after you go, before my part in your escape is discovered, that I have freed you, that you are safe, and that they should not come back to Nanda Parbat if they want to live! But if you stay here now, you will die, and your friends will die trying to rescue you! Then everything I have just done, every punishment that my father will levy upon me for killing two of my fellow assassins and freeing you, will be for nothing! Now go!"

"Thank you. " Sara nodded her head, and started walking in the direction that Nyssa was now pointing, towards the passage way she would need to escape, before an obvious truth finally reached the Canary's mind. The blonde then turned towards her dark haired rescuer. "Your father will kill you for this, won't he?! For helping me, and killing two of his men?! Tell me I am wrong!"

The Daughter of the Demon shook her head sadly. "You are not wrong. This is not the first time I have defied my father, and since he has just brought me back from the dead with the Lazarus Pit, the Demon will consider what I have just done the height of disloyalty and ingratitude. And, his daughter or not, Ra's al Ghul will not hesitate to make an example of me for his men by killing me for those crimes! I am not, after all, a male, so I cannot be my father's heir. He can afford to lose me, but he will not risk losing the respect of his men by failing to have me executed for what I have just done for you. But it was worth it to save you, beloved. I hope you remember that, and that still means something to you, even if you do not love me anymore like I love you."

Sara Lance shook her head. "No. I am not going to let that happen! I am not going to let you die for me!"

The daughter of the Demon sighed. "It is already done, Ta-er al-Asfer. I cannot undo what I have done to save you, and I would not do so, even if I could, even though you seem bound and determined to devalue that gift by wasting precious time! You need to leave now!"

The Canary crossed her arms in front of her body. "No! I am not leaving without you!"

Nyssa shook her head sadly. "Don't be ridiculous! If I leave with you now, my father will send twice as many men to find you, five times as many, just because I am with you. You will have a much better chance of surviving on your own! There is no reason for you to risk your life for me, beloved. I know you do not love me, anymore, after all. You proved that when you left me before."

That set Sara off, and tears started flowing down the blonde woman's angry face as she pointed her right index finger in Nyssa's direction. "You don't know shit, Nyssa!"

The unusually crass words from the usually more reserved Sara Lance took Nyssa aback as her ex continued speaking while shaking her head. "I never, ever, stopped loving you! I should have, after you threatened to kill my mother, but I…couldn't. When you died the other day, because of Malcolm Merlyn's machinations, it broke my heart! And I will not let that happen to you again!"

The blonde ex assassin sighed. "I left the League because I just couldn't take all of the killing anymore, Nyssa! I'm not like you! I couldn't stand killing people all the time, or the stains that each murder put on my soul, anymore! That's why I left! It had nothing to do with my feelings for you! But I knew how loyal you were to your father back then, and that you would never leave the League of Assassins. So I had to leave alone. Otherwise, I would have asked you to leave the League with me!"

Nyssa shook her head in disbelief, and Sara could have sworn some moisture was building up in the dark haired woman's eyes. "It seems I am not the only one of us who had misjudged the other! First of all, I would never have actually killed your mother, but I was desperate enough to get you back that I was willing to bluff that I was going to do so. Furthermore, If you had told me ahead of time that you were going to run away from the League, told me how you were feeling, and asked me to join you, Ta-er al-Asfer, I would have done so in a heartbeat! As you know, my mother died when I was too young to remember her face, and my father has always valued me more as a commodity item to marry off to his future heir, than as the daughter he should have loved. You are the only person who has ever truly loved me, my beloved, and if you had asked me to go with you before, then I would have! "

Sara's eyes were still moist as she extended her right hand towards Nyssa. "Then let me make it up to you and do this right, this time! Come with me, Nyssa! We can send my friends a message, together, later! Just know that you are, and will ever be, my beloved as well! And I know, if we stick together, we will survive! But I will not leave without you and lose you again!"

Nyssa huffed in mock annoyance, although the smile on her lips conveyed the lie to her feigned exasperation with the Canary. "You must be mad to insist this course of action, Ta-er al-Asfer. But I would be equally mad to refuse you."

The Daughter of the Demon quickly wiped the moisture off of Sara's face, then pulled the Canary in for a quick kiss before she reluctantly pulled away and started walking towards the passage way that would lead both Sara and Nyssa towards freedom. "We must hurry now, my beloved! We have lost a lot of time already, and we need to move quickly if we want our new life together to be more than a few minutes long!"

Despite the constant danger that she knew her life would now be in for the foreseeable future, since the League would undoubtedly seek vengeance on both Nyssa and herself for tonight's events, The Canary was sporting a large grin the entire time as she followed the Daughter of the Demon away from the League's fortress and into a brand new life.

* * *

…Several hours later…

Oliver forced himself to grin as he caught sight of his male Russian friend as soon as he pulled his large vehicle, which had both "preservation caskets" in the trunk (which he had snuck out of the Queen Mansion by himself, with great difficulty), into the same airfield that he and his teammates had crash-landed the ARGUS jet onto early this morning. The Arrow had departed the Queen mansion under cover of darkness in the dead of night, leaving Thea and Roy behind this time. He was not about to risk anybody else he held dear on this mission, after all. However, the vigilante had attempted to recruit _Helena_ Bertinelli for this mission. Unfortunately, even though the formerly vindictive woman was repentant about the large number of people she had killed in the past, and the Huntress had happily volunteered to help Oliver on his mission to Nanda Parbat when he had spoken to her earlier today and explained what had happened to the mother of his child, the Arrow had been unable to bail Helena out of prison, even though her court date hadn't arrived yet, because she was considered a "high flight risk." Even so, partly as a display of gratitude to the former vigilante for volunteering to help, and partly because of the hope that the Arrow still had that he could still reform the Huntress, the Arrow had promised to do everything he could to get Helena out of prison, after he had secured Helena's agreement that she follow the Arrow's lead and stop killing people she didn't have to from now on.

But Oliver shook his thoughts about the Huntress, as well those about Barry Allen, who had finally contacted the emerald archer and formally declared that he had accepted the deal and would follow through with the Arrow's plan, as he got out of his vehicle to greet his old friend, Anatoly Knyazev, the leader of the Solntsevskaya Bratva. The former Bratva hit-man responded in kind when the leader of that organization embraced Oliver with one arm and shook the man's hand with the other.

The Russian man chuckled as he pulled away from Oliver and got a proper look at the worried looking man with a wound under one of his eyes. "It is good to see you again, old friend, although I wish that we were meeting under different circumstances."

The Arrow nodded solemnly. "So do I. I'm glad that you took time out of your very busy schedule to help me, however, old friend. I'm a bit surprised you were willing to help me, after what happened to Alexi. And I'm very surprised that you personally came all the way here to the United States on such short notice…."

Anatoly sighed. "Yes, that business with Alexi was…." the Russian man shook his head sadly. "Nasty. But I'm well aware that you yourself did not kill him. Furthermore, although Alexi will be missed…he was known among our ranks for being a bit on the stingy side when it came to favors. From what I heard, the man you were trying to get information on, that psychopath Slade Wilson, was a persistent threat to your family at the time, and the bald man still tried to stiff you by making you do a favor for him before he gave you the information."

The Russian mob boss shrugged. "Me? I would have given you the information that you needed at that moment. The way I see it, you did me a favor when you and your friends took that psychopath out of this world. Besides, you saved my life, Oliver Queen, and for that I am still in your debt! Now..."

Anatoly clapped two of his hands together and rubbed them against each other. "Tell me about this woman of yours! The one you so badly needed my organization's help to save! You told me she is going to be the mother of your first born! Is that correct?"

Oliver shook his head. "No. I told you she was pregnant with my child. But not with my first born. I recently discovered that I already have a son named Connor. He just celebrated his sixth birthday in our family's home a few weeks ago, just days after I was able to secure him into my custody."

Anatoly looked shocked. "Truly? I did not know you had a son, Oliver! Congratulations!" The Russian man smiled. "As soon as you have secured your woman, you and I need to celebrate this momentous achievement! It is not every day that you become a father after all! However, I was going to ask about this woman of yours that you are about to have another child with, who you are risking so much to rescue. What is her name?"

Oliver forced a smile, playing his part with the Russian man in front of him well. "Isabel Rochev."

Anatoly laughed. "A Russian woman, then! I did warn you while we were both living in Moscow that once you've been with a Russian girl, they will be the only thing that make your toes…"

The archer coughed. "I'm sorry, Anatoly, but I'm on a bit of a tight schedule, and I really need to go rescue my "Russian girl" very soon. " Oliver inclined his head towards a section of the airfield behind the crime boss. "Is that the transportation you have secured for me?"

Anatoly's face became serious again as he turned towards the black plane with curved edges, a small cockpit, and a large storage area in the back. "Yes! The vehicle I have just bestowed upon you in your gallant quest to save your damsel in distress is top of the line, Oliver! A little memento from the Cold War that the Bratva were able to…how shall I say…liberate from one of the former U.S.S.R's holding facilities! As far as I have been able to discover, this stealth cargo jet was a prototype, the only one of its kind created by the Soviets before that regime fell and the funding for the project dried up! If you can believe it, this beauty…"

Anatoly tapped the underside of the jet. "Was never given an official name by its creators! It had some long, boring numerical designation that I can't remember. But among the Bratva, we call it 'The Ghost!' And I must tell you, this machine is amazing, Oliver. It has no weapons equipped, but…not only has my organization been able to use it for countless successful smuggling runs, but during all that time, this plane has never once broken down! It is also invisible to sonar, radar, x-rays, thermal imaging, and, in a pinch…"

The Russian man smiled as he pushed a button on a small black key he pulled out of his pocket, which caused the jet to, apparently, vanish in front of both Oliver and Anatoly's eyes. "The visible light spectrum!"

Oliver's eyes widened slightly, but he said nothing as the head of the Bratva organization pressed the only other button on the key, causing the jet to become visible again as the older man sighed. "Unfortunately, the jet is a prototype, so if you engage 'invisibility mode' for more than five minutes at a time, the engine will overheat, then die within 30 seconds. But that should be plenty of time to get out of most tight spots, eh, comrade?"

The Arrow nodded. "I'm sure it will be. This seems like just what I need, Anatoly. Thank you. I'm almost glad now that ARGUS wouldn't grant me the use of another one of their stealth jets for this mission, since I'm sure whatever means of transportation they would have given me would be much less impressive than this."

Anatoly huffed. "Bah! Of course they would have! That organization is made of a bunch of American bureaucrats and pencil pushers that wouldn't know an example of quality engineering if it landed right on top of them!"

The blonde billionaire forced out a chuckle for his friend's benefit, although he didn't feel like laughing at all right now. "I guess not. Can I have the key to this jet now, Anatoly? I'm sort of on a tight schedule."

Anatoly nodded, then started to place the key in Oliver's hand. The emerald archer tried to pull his hand, along with the key, away from his Russian friend, but the man tightened his grip around both as his voice suddenly became very serious. "Take care of this plane, old friend. She is one of the most important, if not the most important, pieces of hardware that our organization has! I am only lending her to you because you saved my life, all those years ago, and because the future mother of one of your children is in danger."

Oliver didn't feel like telling the man in front of him that Isabel was already dead, but he was going to fix that very soon, as the Russian elaborated on his words. "A lot of people will be very angry with you, Oliver, if anything bad happens to this plane. And I will be one of them. Do you understand?"

The hero nodded. "I understand perfectly. Don't worry, I will take good care of her. I'll return 'The Ghost' to you without a scratch on her, and with a full tank of gas in her. I promise. Now, it's been good to see you, old friend, but if there isn't anything else…"

Oliver started to walk away, but Anatoly grabbed the younger man's shoulder and pulled him towards him just hard enough to force the blonde billionaire's ear near his own mouth. The Russian man then whispered to his American friend. "One more thing. I don't know what crazy mission you are about to embark on to save your woman, and I don't want to know. But this favor that you agreed to do for the Bratva in exchange for the use of "the Ghost"….Are you sure you will be prepared to carry it out for us? Because there will be consequences for failure, Oliver. I will not be able to protect you this time."

Oliver nodded. "I'll get it done."

Anatoly nodded his head uncertainly. "Good. Good. I will see you and 'The Ghost' in Moscow soon, then, Oliver. I hope your rescue attempt goes well."

The vigilante whispered softly to himself as Anatoly was walking towards his vehicle to leave the air strip. "Yeah. Me too."

* * *

Minutes later, The Arrow was flying through the air inside "the Ghost", with no one to keep him company except for the dead bodies in the preservation caskets in the cargo hold. The man was pushing the jet, which had controls similar to some of the Russian planes Anatoly had taught Oliver to fly in the past, to its limits, because Oliver was determined to get to Nanda Parbat before the sun rose upon the Hindu Kush mountain range. As the Arrow did so, the man did not allow himself to think about the very real possibility of his eminent death on Nanda Parbat, or even how he was going to make Ra's al Ghul and the League pay for those they had taken from him, for thoughts of vengeance could come later.

No. The Arrow did not allow himself to think about any of those things just yet. But one thing that he could not push away was his very real sorrow over (temporarily, Oliver told himself) losing Isabel and his unborn child. That was a feeling that Oliver could not push down or lock away even as he tried to focus on his upcoming mission. A feeling that, ironically, was a constant reminder of just how necessary the success of this mission was, not only for his friends and family, or to Isabel and the unborn child themselves. No, Oliver knew now that the fate of his heart, soul (for it had only been his love for Isabel that had convinced the Arrow that he still had one after coming back from the island), and possibly even his sanity, depended on his ability to get Isabel back.

Therefore, although Oliver was still determined to rescue Sara and bring Tommy back from the dead, it was the thought of getting the Midnight Sentinel and the child he had fathered with her that was driving the Arrow now. That and the pain of losing both of them. Yes, the blonde billionaire, who currently had tears freely flowing down his face, finally acknowledged to himself when he was halfway to Nanda Parbat, he very well might die in very painful fashion at the hands of the League of Assassins tomorrow. But for tonight, the pain that he was experiencing as a result of losing Isabel again was the worst pain that he could imagine.

 **I saddled up and away I did go  
Riding alone in the dark  
Maybe tomorrow, a bullet may find me  
Tonight nothing's worse than this pain in my heart**

 **-Exert from the song, "EL Paso", written and performed by Marty Robbins**

 **AN: Hello, readers! As always, I would like to thank all of my readers, especially those of you who were kind enough to leave a review on my last chapter, including, in no particular order: Pootamis, Troll99, highlander348, Phillipe363, and WinterRain36! Your input and continued support are greatly appreciated!**

 **First of all, I would just like to acknowledge that I know many of you were unhappy with Isabel's death in the last chapter, and that she had not yet been revived in this chapter. Let me just assure all of you that there will be plenty more Olibel interactions very soon! That's all I will say about that. However, I just wanted to convey in this chapter how big the stakes for Oliver's upcoming mission are for everyone in the Queen family, especially Oliver himself. And I believe that the excerpts from the song I posted above reflect Oliver's desperation at this point in the story very well.**

 **Second, I just wanted to address the Nyssa/Sara scene in this chapter. I'm not sure what the sensibilities of my readers are concerning femslash pairings, but Nyssa/Sara was the dominant canon pairing for Sara throughout most of the events depicted in the show (for about five years before the events of season 2, and probably several months post season 2), so I thought it would be doing the characters a disservice not to include it here while trying to add a little brightness to an otherwise dark chapter, even though I don't have much experience writing scenes for femslash pairings. My point is, I hope that I did Sara and Nyssa's characters justice in that scene, even though I mostly played it safe with the romance elements. But please let me know what you all thought of it.**

 **Finally, I would again like to thank all of my readers for their input and support of my Arrow stories so far! Your views and reviews are what keeps me posting. Please let me know what you thought of this extra-long chapter! And finally, I need to thank my beta-reader, without whom my story would be so bad, it would be as invisible as "The Ghost" on the radar of the readers on this site. Your help is invaluable and appreciated!**

 **-supercode**


	11. The Arrow and the Demon

It was cloudy in the Hindu Kush mountain ranges when Oliver Queen and the Ghost finally reached Nanda Parbat. The Arrow couldn't help thinking that this was the first bit of good luck that he had run across since Team Arrow had decided on undertaking a suicide mission to Nanda Parbat in an effort to resurrect Nyssa al Ghul, Rebecca and Tommy Merlyn. Although that mission had been partially successful, since the Canary had been able to convince the Demon to resurrect his daughter using the Lazarus Pit, pretty much every other aspect of Team Arrow's last visit to Nanda Parbat had been a disaster. Isabel had been killed, Sara Lance had been captured, and the Arrow had been forced to abandon Rebecca's body to the ocean in order to secure even the dimmest hope of resurrecting the Midnight Sentinel, and his unborn child, in the future. In short, it had been a very bad day.

But now, finally, things seemed to be going the emerald archer's way. Felicity had just reported five minutes ago that Barry Allen had already accomplished that Oliver had asked him to do for this mission, using Queen Consolidated resources that the blonde billionaire had made it easy for the Flash to secure. This good news was slightly dampened by the fact that Felicity had informed the Arrow that Thea had gone ballistic when she found out that Oliver had taken off without her and Roy, and that Thea was now refusing to talk to Felicity who had known what Oliver was planning to do.

But the Arrow chose not to focus on that negative turn of events, and instead focus on the fact that the cloud cover over Nanda Parbat provided plenty of camouflage for the stealth cargo jet that Oliver was piloting, for most of the descent towards the League of Assassins' base. Therefore, the Arrow didn't need to engage the craft's invisibility mode until he was a mere 30 seconds from the ground. Even so, Oliver Queen knew that he needed to be cautious now. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes on this mission. There had been far too many mistakes on his last mission to Nanda Parbat, after all. And the stakes were a lot higher now. Therefore, the Arrow kept the Ghost's invisibility mode engaged for five whole minutes. The archer counted down every second, all 300 of them, as he edged the grounded stealth jet as close as he could towards the League of Assassins' base.

Finally, the Arrow's five minutes of invisibility ran out. Just the Arrow finished navigating the cargo jet as far as it could safely travel over the rocky mountain terrain, Oliver simultaneously brought the aircraft to a complete stop and disengaged the craft's invisibility mode. Then the green clad hero calmly exited the vehicle and started walking through the snow that had begun falling several minutes ago. In the midst of his determination to complete his objective, he didn't even feel the cold.

If the Arrow was nervous at the prospect of the course of action he was undertaking, or the events he and Barry Allen had already set in motion, he did not show it. On the contrary, the emerald archer seemed to possess and ice-cold demeanor as he started calmly walking through snow ½ inch thick towards the League of Assassins' base. As Oliver calmly walked towards the place he believed his friend was being held, however, he was distinctly aware of two things. One, he was, for all intents and purposes, unarmed at the moment. And two, there were many assassin scouts, two of which the Arrow had spotted already, and the blonde man was sure, several that he would not spot unless they came out of their hiding, which were watching him now. Despite his feigned calm demeanor, both of these facts made him nervous. However, the Batman's words were still ringing in the Arrow's head, reassuring the archer that his present course of action was not as mad as it appeared to be.

According to Bruce Wayne's words concerning Ra's and the League, nobody in the League of Assassins would be killing the Arrow just yet, for a number of reasons. First, the League generally frowned upon killing an unarmed opponent unless it was absolutely necessary to do so, especially an individual that approached a member of the League in peace. Second, Ra's al Ghul would want to know more about how "the Ghost" had allowed the Arrow to reach Nanda Parbat before any member of the League of Assassins could spot him. And finally, the Demon would want to know why Oliver had returned, alone and unarmed, to Nanda Parbat after his entire team had lost a battle with the League of Assassins. Therefore, the Arrow knew (or at least, hoped), that there was a good chance that the Demon himself would want to speak to the Arrow before he tried to kill him.

The Arrow was not disappointed. When Oliver Queen finally reached the League's base, when the vigilante was only 12 paces from the front steps of the main compound, the mountain ranges around him seemed to come alive with movement, as over a dozen scouts came out of their hiding places in the Hindu Kush mountain ranges, while at least two dozen more assassins rushed out of the compound itself. After that happened, all of these assassins, clad in black hoods, cowls, clothes and armor had the Arrow completely surrounded within less than a minute. And then, last of all, the Demon himself walked out of the building and approached the Arrow.

At first glance, the man that approached the Arrow did not look all that impressive. Although, Oliver could tell that the apparently middle aged man, with his dark eyes, even darker hair, mustache, goatee, and untamed stubble on the side of his face, was muscular, even under his robes, the Arrow would hazard to guess that the Demon was not as well-built as he was. Furthermore, as Ra's al Ghul drew closer to Oliver, it quickly became apparent that the Demon was slightly shorter than the Arrow. However, despite the man's unremarkable appearance, and the fact that Oliver had never meet Ra's al Ghul before, several things about the man who was now in front of him gave his identity away before the older man uttered a single word. For instance, the Demon was the only assassin present who was not currently wearing a hood or a cowl, and while the man's armor was black, like that of his underlings, his robe was a mixture of black and gold, and it was held together by a gold-colored sash. None of these differences where what bothered Oliver Queen right now, though. What bothered the Arrow was that Ra's had an intense look in his eyes that Oliver had only seen in the gaze three other people: Malcolm Merlyn, Slade Wilson, and sometimes, his own eyes when the Arrow looked in the mirror. It was the gaze of an experienced killer.

That gaze did not falter when the Demon stopped only a foot away from Oliver Queen, although that look was mixed with a hint of amusement in the old man's eyes now. "So here you are! At last, I finally get to meet the fabled Arrow that Ta-er al-Asfer would not stop talking about for over a year! I didn't think I would ever get the chance to properly introduce myself to you, but since you finally decided to be honorable and talk to me face to face, like a man, I shall do so now. My name…the only name that has any meaning for me, is Ra's al Ghul, as you have probably guessed by now. And your name…is Oliver Queen!"

The Arrow just nodded at the revelation that the Demon already knew his identity. At the moment, the how's and why's of Ra's possessing that knowledge did not matter to the hero. The important thing was that the Demon knew who he was. Therefore, deciding his disguise was unnecessary, the Arrow pulled his hood back and started to take the green mask off of his face in a nonchalant manner. "So it is. Just so you know…" Oliver casually looked at the timer on the small black device in his right sleeve as he took his mask off. "We have a little less than five minutes to have this conversation. So I suggest that we both skip the theatrics now."

The Demon smirked. "Is that a threat, Mr. Queen?"

The emerald archer still had a stoic, serious look on his face. "No. Just an observation. You see…A friend of mine has already littered your entire compound, and the surrounding mountain ranges, with high grade explosives. These explosives were placed in several strategic locations, and if they are not disarmed within the next four and a half minutes or so, most of this mountain range will be falling down upon our heads shortly, and your entire compound, including the Lazarus Pit and all of the scrolls and tomes that your organization has recorded all of its history and knowledge on, will be blown to bits and lost forever. And believe me, your men will never be able to find all of the bombs and disarm them in time"

The Arrow's thoughts briefly drifted back to the instructions that he had left the Flash via Felicity, which Barry Allen had assured Oliver he had carried out to the letter. The Arrow had told the Flash to run all the way to Nanda Parbat, place bombs that the Flash would "steal" from Queen Consolidate's Applied Science's Division, in very specific places which he had marked on some blueprints of the League's base and the mountain ranges of Nanda Parbat. He had also told the Flash to "place the explosives as precisely as you can, but whatever you do, don't stop moving. Because you are just as slow as everyone else when you are standing still…"

Several assassins started to move towards Oliver and Ra's positions, but the Demon held up his hand, stopping them all, before he turned back towards the Arrow with a serious look on his face. "I think you are bluffing. You are trying to get whatever it is you want from me by lying."

The Arrow remained stone faced. "I'm not lying. And you're wasting time."

Ra's al Ghul raised his eyebrow skeptically, although Oliver could see there was a little fear in the older man's eyes now. "Really? If what you are saying is true, within five minutes, everyone here will be dead. And that would include you."

The Arrow pulled the device out of his right sleeve. "Yes. And that will happen in 3 minutes, 43 seconds, actually. Unless you do what I say. See for yourself."

Ra's Al Ghul carefully took the device that Oliver handed to him. The Demon noted that the device he was now holding had several buttons, with various numbers, letters, and symbols on them, as well as a digital timer which was counting down. Sure enough, there were now less than 3.5 minutes before the timer reached zero. The older man paid more attention this time when the blonde man spoke. "Some things are worth dying for, Ra's. I don't want things to happen that way, but if dying and taking you with me is the only way I can protect my friends and family from the League, so be it! Or…you could do what I ask you to and nobody has to die today. I can still input the code in the device you are holding, a code which only I know, and disarm the bombs. The choice is yours."

The Demon examined the Arrow's face carefully for a long moment, decided the man was telling the truth, and then nodded. "Very well. I would hear your demands, then."

The Arrow nodded. "First, you will take my friends, family, and loved ones off of the League's kill list and tell all of your men that no harm is to come to the Queen family and their friends."

The Demon sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Done. What else?"

The Arrow listed his second demand. "You will release Sara Lance from wherever you have imprisoned her. If you have killed her, you will agree to revive her with the Lazarus Pit and…"

Ra's shook his head and interrupted Oliver. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Oliver." Seeing that the Arrow was about to open his mouth to protest, the Demon quickly added. "I cannot do that because Ta-er al-Asfer has already escaped from Nanda Parbat with the aid of my disgraced daughter, Nyssa. And since your friend has stolen my daughter away from me and convinced her to disgrace my name, I will not, even under threat of death, take Nyssa and Ta-er al-Asfer off my kill list. Now, I'm sure you have other demands. You should quickly name those as well."

The Arrow reluctantly nodded while trying not to show his surprise at the fact that Nyssa and Sara had already run of together. "Fine. You will resurrect Tommy Merlyn and Isabel Rochev, whom one of your men killed. Their bodies are in the aircraft I came in. You will then grant all three of us a safe passage back to Starling City."

The Demon stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I understand why you would risk your life for a good friend. Many of the men who serve me are like brothers to me, and I would risk my life for any one of them. But I never thought a man as strong as you would be willing to risk your life over a woman. What is that western expression? There are plenty of other fish in the sea…"

Oliver tried and failed not to grimace in anger, but he quickly recovered himself, and decided to frame his situation in a way that the older man could understand it. "Isabel was pregnant with my child, Ra's, and I want both of them back! Her and the baby!"

Ra's nodded. "I see. That does change things. I already know what it means to love a child, although I warn you that love just makes it all the more painful when that child betrays you. And I suppose you know what it is to love a child as well, since you already have a son, an heir, back home in Starling City."

The Demon paced around Oliver for several seconds while the Arrow waited for the older man's verdict. Finally, the dark haired man spoke again. "I will bring back Tommy Merlyn for you. However…I do not wish to resurrect Isabel Rochev for two reasons. One, I do not believe it is fair that I should lose all of my children, one, my son Nathaniel, to a fire, my oldest daughter, Talia, to a battle with a woman named Selina Kyle that left her body too maimed to be revived by the Lazarus Pitt, and my youngest, Nyssa, to betrayal, and you be allowed to have your unborn child back. My second, and much more important reason, is this. No pregnant woman has been brought back with the Lazarus Pit before, and I'm not sure what will happen to your offspring if Isabel is resurrected. Your child may live again, or they may stay dead, come back half dead, or come back as some sort of abomination. I just don't know. And I do not wish to risk some abomination being born in the Lazarus Pit while I still hold the title of Ra's al Ghul!"

Oliver shook his head. "That's your problem, not mine. You will revive Isabel, or we will all die. If the baby stays dead…then at least I tried to revive him or her, and I will have Miss Rochev back. If the baby lives, I will love him or her no matter how they turn out. But I am not leaving Nanda Parbat without Isabel. Live or die. It's your choice."

The Demon sighed again while noting that there was only a little over a minute left on the timer. "Unfortunately, Oliver, I have already told my men I would not resurrect Isabel, and I cannot risk the respect of my men by going back on my word. That could lead to anarchy within the League. However…in order to spare this fortress, and I my men, I will grant you a compromise. I will challenge you to single combat. A fight to the death, according to the League's rules. Since you already have me at somewhat of a disadvantage in the negotiations department, I will agree to take your family and friends, except for Ta-er al-Asfer, off my kill list, no matter the outcome. Since I am feeling somewhat generous at the moment, and because I admire your conviction, I will also agree to resurrect Tommy Merlyn and have him escorted back to Starling City. But…."

The Demon smirked. "Isabel will only be resurrected if you kill me in single combat. I give my word of honor, in the hearing of all of my men, that this, and all of my other promises, will be done if you slay me. Otherwise, Miss Rochev and your child will remain dead, and you will, obviously, be dead as well. Oh, and in that case, the League will, of course, relieve you of your fantastic invisible jet. That air craft would make a fine addition to the League's fleet. But, I should warn you, Oliver. I have been alive for over three centuries, and in all of that time, I have only been bested in combat once, by a man who has much more experience fighting according to the League's ways than you ever will. Unfortunately, the Batman lacked the stomach to do what was necessary and strike me down. As a consequence, I am still standing here today. And you will most likely die soon. For you are no Batman. However, in exchange for this deal, you will still be required to disarm the bombs, then tell me where they are. Do we have a deal?"

Oliver took the device that the Demon handed back to him, saw that there was only ten seconds left on the timer, and quickly agree to Ra's condition. "It's a deal." The Arrow then quickly inputted the long code, which consisted of a string of numbers representing Connor's, then Isabel's, then last of all, Oliver's own birthdays, disengaging all of the bombs.

The Demon smiled at took the device back from Oliver. "Good. In five minutes, you will be taken to the traditional dueling grounds near the side of this mountain. Right now, you will now give the locations of every single bomb that your ally, the Flash, I assume, placed around Nanda Parbat, to one of my most trusted men." Ra's gestured toward a particular assassin who pulled back his black hood, revealing the face of Oliver's old friend from Hong Kong, Maseo Yamashiro!

Oliver just managed to hold back a gasp as Ra's gloated. "I believe you are already familiar with Sarab, the Phantom, although I believe he still went by the name Maseo Yamashiro when you last saw him. Isn't that correct, Sarab?"

The Asian man bowed toward the Demon. "Yes, Ra's al Ghul. But that was a lifetime ago. I am only a shadow, a phantom of the man I was then. The man before you know now exists only to serve the League of Assassins, and to kill evil wherever I find it."

The Demon only nodded before walking away, but the smile on the older man's face gave away that he was pleased by Sarab's answer. The Japanese man then turned to Oliver Queen with a serious expression on his face. "I need the locations of the bombs you had placed in and around Nanda Parbat now, Oliver."

Oliver nodded. "Of course." Oliver then proceeded to tell Sarab, in very precise details, where the bombs around the compound and mountain ranges were located. While Sarab was leading the Arrow to the dueling grounds, Oliver decided to use what may be his last moments to talk to his old friend. "I was wondering…why did you come here, to the League of Assassins, Maseo? Does Tatsu know you are here? I'm sure your wife would want to know you are still alive…"

The Japanese man shook his head and spoke in a grave tone as he continued walking. "I told you. I am no longer Maseo Yamashiro. My name is Sarab now. The League made me choose a new name when they gave me purpose, a way to channel my grief and pain by killing the unjust. When I adopted the League's purpose, I swore to put aside all other ties to other people that may get in the way of my commitment to the Assassins. Maseo had a wife, Maseo had friends. Once upon a time, Maseo had a child. Sarab only has, only needs, the League of Assassins. And make no mistake, Oliver Queen, it is Sarab you are talking to now. I will warn you that when you fight the Demon today, I will not step in to help you if the battle starts to go badly for you. And if you die, I will not cry for you."

The Japanese assassin stopped walking when they reached an area outside that was near the edge of the mountain Nanda Parbat was on top of top. This area, which now had numerous assassins standing on either side of, was coated with almost ½ inch more snow than the area outside the compound, and only a solitary, small weapons rack stood near one side of the snowy area to mark this as the dueling grounds that Ra's al Ghul had spoken of. Somewhat unnecessarily, Sarab said. "This is it. Take off any armor and weapons you may have on your person and choose your weapons. Ra's Al Ghul will choose a weapon after you do. But Oliver…." Sarab whispered this part, but his words nearly succeeded in making the Arrow smile. "I will not be upset if you win, either."

Oliver nodded, then stripped all of his Arrow gear and clothing, apart from his pants and underwear, just as the currently half naked Demon had already done. The Arrow then approached the weapons rack, carefully examined each weapon, and then turned toward Ra's, who was standing by the side of the cliff, waiting for his opponent to choose his weapons. "I do not wish to fight you with any of these weapons. I would prefer to use another weapon of my own choosing."

The Demon turned towards Oliver with a raised eyebrow of interest. Nobody, in the history of the League of Assassins, had ever turned down the weapons presented to them for a duel. "Oh, and what would you choose as a weapon then?"

Oliver shrugged. "A bow and a quiver of arrows, of course."

Ra's al Ghul smirked. "I'm afraid that is out of the question, Mr. Queen. All duels conducted according to League rules must be conducted face to face. That way, the victor can look his opponent in the eye when he kills him. Besides, I am not too proud to say that I am a bit rusty with a bow, or fighting against people wielding one, and that if your skills with that weapon are half as good as I hear they are, you would almost definitely beat me in single combat if I let you choose that as your weapon. That hardly seems fair, now does it? No, I'm afraid you will need to choose weapons from the selections provided, Arrow."

The blonde man nodded, then turned back to the weapons rack and selected his second choice of weaponry for this duel, two straight swords that were similar to the ones that Isabel had been training him to use for over a month, although the Arrow had already possessed some experience fighting with swords before that. The older, dark haired man, seeing the Arrow carefully weighing the blades in his hands and take a few expert-level practice swings with the twin blades, decided to forgo his usual policy of starting a duel without a weapon and instead chose a single curved longsword of his own. The assassins around Ra's and the Arrow started talking loudly among themselves when they saw this, for they knew that the Demon had only chosen to use a starter weapon against one combatant in a duel before, and the Demon had then lost in combat to the Batman almost two years ago, although the challenger had refused to kill Ra's al Ghul afterward.

But Oliver Queen did not know the reason that the crowd of assassins around the dueling area were excited right now. Nor did he care. The Arrow blocked out the crowd, the snow falling on his bare chest, and all other distractions as his world shrunk to include only himself, the Demon, and the immediate surroundings around both men, even while the Arrow remembered the Bat's advice about fighting the Demon. And soon, the battle was under way.

Surprisingly, it was Ra's al Ghul who attacked first, as the Demon finally grew tired of waiting for Oliver Queen to make the first move after 30 seconds. What was even more surprising, for Oliver and everyone else, however, was how easily the Arrow was able to deflect the first forward running stroke of the older man's sword with one of his own blades. And even though the Arrow had to remind himself not to get to cocky, or congratulate himself too much, for deflecting one attack, that small early victory did manage to replace some of the Arrow's previous nervousness with confidence.

Oliver reminded himself that, although the Demon was a much more experienced fighter than he was, and he was fighting on his own turf, he, Oliver Queen, held all the other advantages in this fight. Despite the advantages the Lazarus Pit gave Ra's al Ghul, after all, Oliver was still younger and stronger. Furthermore, as the Arrow had reminded himself while fighting the Dark Archer days earlier, he had more to fight for, including a family that loved him and that he needed to come home to, and a best friend, girlfriend, and child that he needed to resurrect. Also, from the way the Demon was holding his sword now, it had been at least a couple of years since the older man had needed to fight with a blade. And that meant that, despite his experience, Ra's al Ghul was rustier with a blade than Oliver was.

Even so, it quickly became evident that, despite the other advantages the Arrow had in this fight, it quickly became apparent that the Demon was a **much** more experienced swordsman that Oliver Queen, as the younger man soon discovered while the older one unleashed a flurry of unpredictable attacks from a multitude of different sword fighting disciplines, and the Arrow continued feinting or dodging those attacks, as the fight continued to drag on. However, armed with his own combat experiences, hands on training from Isabel, and Batman's advice about fighting Ra's al Ghul (Oliver acknowledged that he had violated Batman's first rule about fighting Ra's al Ghul already, which was "Don't fight Ra's al Ghul if you can avoid it", but he choose not to think about that right now), the Arrow was still, somehow, able to keep up with the Demon's unpredictable attacks for the next five minutes, and both opponents were too focused on each other's movements to say one word, much less lines of witty banter.

True, Ra's al Ghul did manage to relieve Oliver of one of his weapons, which was lost over the mountainside, when the Demon slashed the Arrow's hand at the two minute mark of the battle, but the blonde man was able to quickly recover, since he had only lost the use of his non-dominant hand for the time being, and he was able to retaliate by slashing a deep wound into the Demon's left side. After that, the battle continued for another 3 minutes, with both fighters wounded and only using one blade.

It was clear that the battle was coming to a close by the five minute mark, however, as both fighters were now clearly exhausted, Oliver from trying to keep up with the Ra's unpredictable attacks, and the Demon due to the wound in his side. So it came as no surprise to anyone watching the battle that the fight ended after exactly 5 minutes and 15 seconds. But the way the battle ended was a surprise to absolutely everyone present.

It was during those last few, precious seconds that the Demon, in a last ditch effort to beat the Arrow, put his sword in one hand, then started sending his other hand, in the form of a fist, towards the Arrow's head…before feinting at the last half second and twisting his body towards Oliver so that he could plunge his sword into the Arrow's chest!

Time seemed to almost stand still for Oliver, while his mind processed a great deal of information very quickly, although not on a conscious level. The good news was, the Arrow was able to see the Demon's sneak attack coming, although it was only because of the advice that Batman had given him about fighting Ra's al Ghul earlier that day that Oliver had even known to look for that particular move. The bad news was, without the use of his non-dominant hand, the Arrow knew he had no chance of deflecting the Demon's sneak attack at this point. So instead, Oliver's subconscious mind decided to do something else…

So what happened, at least on a conscious level, at the end of the epic fight was this: Ra's al Ghul feinted with his fist, then thrust his sword at Oliver Queen's chest with his other arm. At the same time, the Arrow pushed his own sword through the air towards the Demons' chest. And thus, at the end of the long fight between the Demon and the Arrow, the longest recorded duel in the League of Assassin's history, Oliver Queen and Ra's al Ghul impaled each other, with both men putting a blade in the other's heart!

The Demon, being the older and more worn of the two men, was the first to fall onto the snowy ground, but the Arrow found himself following suite within 10 seconds. As Oliver bled out onto the snow (although the Demon had been dead before he even hit the ground), the Arrow's last thought was: 'I'm so sorry, Isabel! I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to beat Ra's al Ghul, and that I failed you and our child!'

* * *

Before Oliver even opened his eyes, he knew that he was in a place that was bright. He could tell this because he could see white light even through his closed eyelids. At first, the light seemed so bright to the Arrow he did not wish to open his eyes, but then a familiar voice, one that Oliver knew he was not mistaken about the source of this time, quickly changed the emerald archer's mind. "You should open up your eyes now, son. We don't have much time. Not anymore."

When the Arrow opened his eyes, he realized that both he, and the man sitting next to him, who had spoken to Oliver with a voice that spoke of weariness and regret, were seated on folding chairs on a beach, and that both of them had fishing poles in their hands. Oliver Queen couldn't stop himself from staring at the man seated next to him for several seconds. The archer immediately knew who the gray-eyed man was, but he looked younger than Oliver had ever seen him. The man had no wrinkles on his face, as he had before, due to a combination of age, stress, and multiple regrets, and his hair, as well as his beard, were blonde like Oliver's, without any hints of gray or white. In fact, if he were pressed to guess how old the man looked, the Arrow would have said that Robert Queen currently looked like he was no older than his son.

Finally, after several seconds, Robert Queen laughed at the shocked look on his son's face, causing Oliver to remember himself and looked away as his dad spoke. "Yes, when I was told you were coming here, I thought you might have that expression on your face when you saw me!" The "older" man smiled. "It's good to see you again, Oliver."

The Arrow, who had been in a similar strange situation before in the "white void" with the multiple versions of him, just nodded. "It's good to see you too, dad. But, um…where, exactly, are we, and who told you I was coming here? I know you died, and…"

Oliver sighed. "I guess I died too. So I'm guessing this is heaven or…"

Robert shook his head and interrupted his son. "We really don't have time for those kinds of questions right now, Oliver. You aren't staying here, and you will be gone soon. But no…this isn't heaven. I'm not a good enough man to go there, at least not yet. And as far as who told me you were coming here…that would take far too long to explain…"

The archer had a worried look on his face. "Damn it! You weren't sent to hell, were you?! I mean, I know you did some things that weren't right, but still! You did all that work, trying to save the Glades, and then you gave your life to save mine…"

The Queen patriarch interrupted his son with a laugh as he waved his hand around at his and Oliver's present surroundings. "Does this look like hell to you, Oliver?"

The Arrow took a closer look at his present environment. The sky above him was bluer than any sky Oliver had ever seen, and the sand beneath his feet, which Oliver now realized was soft and warm, was a deeper, purer white than Oliver had ever seen on any object. But the most breathtaking aspect of Oliver's surrounding was that the water in front of him, which both Robert and Oliver Queen had fishing lines in at the moment, was the clearest water that Oliver had ever seen, and yet, somehow, the water was still blue, and it's reflection in the sunlight made it look like the surface of the water was composed of pure crystal. Furthermore, the water, for Oliver knew not whether he was looking at an ocean or very large lake, was teaming with fish of every conceivable shape, size, and color, many of which Oliver had never seen or heard of before.

The Queen patriarch did not wait for an answer to his rhetorical question before he spoke. "No, this isn't hell. I wouldn't call it purgatory either, although if you know what purgatory is, you'll have a good idea of what happens to souls in this place. I'm being prepared for something…better. Exactly what that is, I couldn't say. I just…sort of, feel it. All I know is, while I'm here, I can enjoy many amazing sights and sounds, almost anything, but I am denied the pleasures of the flesh, such as food and drink, which I no longer need, and I am not usually allowed the company of other people, although an exception was made for your brief sojourn here. There are no men here for me to try to dominate, no women for me to…" Robert coughed. "Well, you know."

Oliver nodded. He knew about his father's affairs all too well, but he didn't feel he had a right to say anything about them because of his own dishonorable dealings with women. The bearded man began talking again. "But anyway, as a visitor to this place, you are not bound by such limitations. Here, drink this…"Robert handed his son a glass bottle with no label that was just as clear as the water in front of the two men, which contained an amber liquid that looked like refined bronze. As Oliver was taking a sip, the older man sighed. "I envy you right now, son. I am told that is the best beer anyone has ever tasted."

Oliver only nodded his head emphatically to acknowledge his father's words as his tongue was hit by an explosion of flavor that was beyond description. All the Arrow knew was that it was, indeed, the best beer he had ever had. The Queen patriarch continued speaking. "As I said, you will not be here long. I do not know the details. I do not know if you are having a near death experience, or if you are actually dead and you will come back from that somehow, I have no idea. All I know is, pretty soon, you will go back to the world you came from. The world of the living. But before our brief time together here is over, I wanted to take you fishing, as I promised to do for you multiple times when you were younger…a promise I kept breaking because I kept myself too busy with the wrong things. But I have the chance to remedy that now. Speaking of which, you may want to reel in that big blue fish that is on the end of your line right now."

Putting the refreshing alcoholic drink down, Oliver saw that there was indeed, a very large fish tugging at the edge of his fishing line. It took almost two minutes, but after a lot of grunting and pulling on Oliver's part, with the help of some helpful advice from his father, the Arrow finally pulled in the biggest, bluest fish that Oliver had ever seen. After the younger Queen was finally able to reel in the fish, which had golden eyes, large fins, and scales that where a such a light blue that the word "turquoise" didn't do them justice, and put in a nearby container, the two Queen men started laughing as the elder man spoke. "We won't be able to cook that fish, I'm afraid. Nothing in this place dies or feels pain. But I'm glad I was able to have this moment here with you before you go back to the world of the living."

Oliver nodded thoughtfully. "So, if I'm going to come back to life, or whatever…I suppose there is no sense in asking you whether any of this is actually real or just something in my head."

Robert Queen chuckled, but there was a serious look in his eyes as he did so. "None whatsoever."

The Arrow frowned. "Then could I at least ask you, if I survive getting stabbed in the chest somehow…do Isabel and Tommy…."

Robert frowned as soon as the name "Isabel" was mentioned, and quickly interrupted his son's words. "They will be fine, as well your unborn child. She will be beautiful when she grows up by the way. But more importantly, she will be intelligent, talented, and very important. Connor, her half-brother, will be important too. I can't tell you much more than that, because I have not been made privy to many details, and I have been told that the living should not know too much about the future anyway. But the dead?" Robert shrugged. "Sometimes we just, know things…"

The Queen patriarch seemed lost in his own world for a moment before he decided to speak again. "I am already very proud of everything they will accomplish by the time all is said and done, just as I am proud of you. I am just sorry that I will never get to meet my grandchildren while they are still alive…"

"Me too." Oliver nodded his head, but he spoke in a tone of disbelief now. "But…You're proud of me? Why? I've done so many bad things, especially with women, made so many mistakes, I even failed to stop the Undertaking. And after all that business with Isabel…"

The Queen patriarch had a serious look on his face now. "Now see here, Oliver Jonas Queen! You were not responsible for the Undertaking, your mother was absolutely right about that! I never actually thought you'd be able to stop it, Oliver! I just wanted you to take legal action against those responsible after it was over! I never dreamed you would become a hero and save so many lives! You have far exceeded my expectations in almost every way, son! And I could not be more proud of you! Furthermore, as far as your dealings with women go…First of all, I know you have already put that part of your past behind you, so I don't feel the need to discuss that at length now. Also, I knew I wasn't a very good example to you when you were growing up, with all my affairs, and the way I would use women when I was alive…"

This time it was Oliver who interrupted his father. "Don't. Just don't. I know you made your own mistakes, but you were a good father despite them. My mistakes, with women, and with everything else, were my own. You are not responsible for..,"

"No, I'm not." The bearded man agreed. "I'm not responsible for you, Oliver, but I am responsible towards you. I'm responsible for neglecting you while you were growing up, while allowing your mother to give you everything you wanted all the time. I'm responsible for setting you a bad example when it came to relating to women. And I'm responsible for letting you get on that boat with Sara instead of telling you to stay in school and not to cheat on Laurel. That is what I'm responsible for! Also…"

Oliver could only nod at his father's words so far, since there was little in them that he could dispute. The younger man was visibly surprised, however, when the Queen patriarch began laughing. Seeing the look on his son's face, the "older" man quickly explained himself. "I'm sorry, I know you probably won't find this nearly as funny as I do, but I suppose after being dead so long, I see things differently and…I just find it humorous that **you** were afraid **I** would be ashamed of **you** concerning your relationship to Isabel. Quite frankly, I was afraid the situation would be quite the reverse, actually. You haven't done anything wrong when it comes to that woman, Oliver! I did! And you are not, at all responsible for anything that happened between me and that poor girl all those years ago!"

Both Oliver and Robert had turned towards the water at this point, since the two men were unable to meet each other's gaze while such an awkward conversation was taking place. The Queen patriarch sighed. "Besides, I brought nothing but darkness and pain into that woman's life. I used her. Used her like I used your mother, and every other woman that I've ever known. I was careless with all of them, but my past dealings with Isabel are among my greatest regrets. She was so innocent when I first saw her, innocent and lonely. And I took advantage of that loneliness to make her do what I wanted. And, as a result, I brought a lot of pain upon my family, and Isabel's heart and mind were shattered, I thought, irreparably. But then you came along and changed all that."

Oliver risked a side glance at his father now while the later continued to speak in an awkward tone. "I thought I had damned her, Oliver. Damned Miss Rochev to a dark path that could only end in her doom. But then you saved her. And I'm far from ashamed of that. Like I said, I'm proud of you Oliver. I asked you to right my wrongs, before I died, and you have done a masterful job at that, and so much more, since then. I'll admit, I didn't imagine at the time that part of that would be helping Isabel heal, but…" The Queen patriarch shrugged. "Like I said, I'm not ashamed of your dealings with her, which have, as much as they possibly could have, righted the wrongs I did to Isabel. If anything, you should be ashamed of how I dealt with that poor woman behind your poor mother's back."

Oliver coughed awkwardly. "Yeah. About that. I don't think I'm a good enough man to judge you for any of that, dad. But…I have to ask, did you care about Isabel at all? After everything that happened, everything that Isabel said you did for her, you almost leaving my mother for her… I don't know, maybe it's not my place to ask that, but after all of the ways that the result of that affair affected me, almost causing our family to lose Queen Consolidated and get killed…."

Robert nodded as his son let his words hang in the air meaningfully before the older man responded. "No. I understand why you are asking that question. I'm afraid I don't have a simple answer for you, though. I was…fond of Isabel, because she looked up to me, cared about me, and she was so innocent and lonely at the time, but…no, I did not love her the way that you do. I wasn't in love with her, as you are. Like I said, I was careless with her. I tried to use my intern to escape my failing marriage to your mother…a marriage which was largely failing because of my own actions…."

The older man looked down in shame. "I have so many things I want to apologize for, so much wrong that I will never fully be able to atone for. And I am sorry for all the ways those wrong actions have made you, my family, and Isabel suffer. But you, Oliver, are a much better man than I ever was, and I'm very proud of you, don't you ever forget that!"

The younger man nodded. "Well, I for one, forgive you. And thank you for telling me…all of that. I appreciate it. I just don't know how I will be able to tell anyone about what I've seen here with you, or about seeing you again."

Robert shook his head. "What you've seen and heard today was only for you, do you understand? You and you alone. I would rather that you did not speak to Thea, Moira, or Isabel about anything you've experienced in this place. I will talk to them myself when their time comes to pass from the world of the living, one way or another. Speaking of which, I suddenly get the feeling that your time here is almost up, Oliver. I wanted to let you know, before you go back…I love you, son."

Oliver smiled, but he did not try to hug his father. He and Robert had never been very big on the whole "hugging" thing, after all. "I love you too, dad! But, I have to ask since I'm here, before I go…Do you have any advice for me before I go back?"

Robert stared off into the distance again for several seconds. "Yes. As I said, I can see a little bit of the future sometimes. I'm sorry son, I know you have already been through some rough times, but there will be even more troubles ahead for you. There is nothing I can do about that except to assure you that if you keep the people you love close to you, and continue to keep them safe, you will be alright."

Oliver nodded as the light around him that seemed to emanate from this place grew brighter, and he spoke just before the while grew blinding. "I will do that then."

* * *

It was somewhat dark when Oliver Queen remembered opening his eyes again, but the sight that the Arrow beheld now put everything he had seen when he was talking to his dad to shame. From the look of his surroundings, the archer was back in his room in the Queen mansion, which had the lights turned down low, lying down in his own bed. But this strange turn of events was not what held Oliver's attention at the moment. No, the sight of a certain brunette girl that he had crossed the world for twice, a woman who was currently asleep on a foldout chair that had been placed in one of the corners of Oliver's room was the only thing Oliver could bring himself to look at this moment.

Isabel Rochev's hair was currently tussled and wild looking, the blue dress she was wearing was wrinkled as if she had been wearing it for several days, there were small bags under the woman's eyes as if she hadn't been getting enough sleep, and she was obviously not wearing any makeup at the moment. Furthermore, the woman was snoring loudly (which, as far as Oliver knew, was a first for the brunette). But none of these "imperfections" bothered Oliver, because to him, the sight of Isabel, flaws and all, was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, and her snores sounded like music to the Arrow's ears. Because the brunette's snores, and the falling of her drably dressed chest, meant that she was breathing. And that meant that Isabel was alive!

Oliver continued to sit up in his bed for several minutes, staring in wonder at his beautiful, amazing, but most of all alive! Girlfriend. So transfixed was he by the sight of Isabel alive in his bedroom that he did not even notice his mother enter the room five minutes after woke up until the Queen matriarch decided to speak softly after watching her son for almost a minute. "Welcome back, Oliver! From the way you are looking at Isabel now, I'm guessing your memories have finally returned!"

Oliver quickly looked at his smiling mother before turning his gaze back to Isabel. "I lost my memory? What happened, mom! The last thing I remember, Ra's al Ghul and I were stabbing each other in the chest in Nanda Parbat, and then….here I am, awake in my own bedroom!"

Moira shook her head. "It's a long story, Oliver. The only thing you need to know right now is that the League of Assassins' brought you, Isabel and Tommy back from the dead after your duel with Ra's al Ghul and brought all three of you, and your jet, back here…"

But the Arrow interrupted his mother now while shaking his head. "I don't understand! I didn't beat the Demon in a duel outright! Why did they bring all three of us back?! Did they bring Ra's al Ghul back from the dead, too?! Are we all still in danger?!"

The blonde middle aged women frowned, then smiled. "No, Oliver, we're not in danger at the moment, and the Assassins won't be bringing the man you killed back. I was told they cremated his body, actually. However, I suspect all of our lives are about to get far more complicated very soon. But you don't have to worry about that just yet. You should rest."

Oliver ignored his mother. "What about Tommy? And have you heard any news about Sara, yet? Are she and Nyssa safe? How is my son, and…"

Moira frowned, interrupting her son. "That is a lot questions, Oliver, but I will answer them as best as I can. Tommy is, amazingly, alive again. He's still confused, and his memories are spotty at the moment, but he is at Laurel's apartment right now, and she is taking care of him"

Oliver nodded while smiling. That was just as it should be. Moira kept speaking. We received a message, via a black arrow with a letter that someone shot at our door, from Sara shortly after you left for Nanda Parbat a second time. We received a second one yesterday. They are both doing fine, but they say they do not want to be found just yet. Your son is also fine, although a bit shaken by everything that has happened since Christmas, even after we took you advice and pulled some strings so that Anna could visit with him for a while. Connor was especially confused after you and Isabel were brought back to the Queen Mansion. You didn't remember anything that happened after getting back from the island at that time and, Isabel was also confused then, you see."

Oliver made a mental note to have a long talk with his son about everything that happened later as his mom continued talking "Miss Rochev didn't remember Connor at all, and she still looked upon me and Thea with anger and suspicion. I was told that she was worse than that when she was first resurrected. She was apparently trying to get away from the assassins during the first minute or so after she was resurrected, and she kept raving about having to get to Slade Wilson, but then…"

"But then, with my enhanced senses, I felt our baby, growing inside me." Isabel, who had woken up without Oliver or Moira noticing. The brunette, who was now rising from her chair, was crying tears of joy as she rushed over to hug Oliver on the bed. "I felt our child, Oliver, and I remembered you, and how much I love you! I didn't remember much else until almost a day later, when I apologized to your family, especially Connor, for how I had behaved when I didn't remember all they had done for me. I was a pretty horrid house guest, to be honest…"

Moira shook her head gently. "And Thea and I told you, there is nothing to apologize for, you weren't yourself at that time! Besides…"

The Queen matriarch addressed Oliver, looking at her son over his girlfriend's shoulder now, since Isabel wouldn't let go of the emerald archer out of her hug yet. "Isabel was there for you pretty much the entire time after you got resurrected, even though you didn't even know her name over the past few days. I'm told that she kept watch over you the entire way home, and she wouldn't leave your side even when you yelled that you didn't know who she was and that she needed to go away. Even then, Miss Rochev wouldn't leave your side for more than five minutes at a time."

Oliver looked at Isabel in wonder after she finally let go of him. "Really? You did all of that for me even when I was threatening you and telling you to go away? Why?!"

Isabel smiled. "Because I knew you weren't yourself at the time, but I loved you anyway, just like you loved me when I was at my worst, and….I knew that I wanted to be there when the real Oliver Queen came back! I'm so glad you are okay! There is so much you need to know, but right now I just want to remind you that I love you, Oliver!"

The Arrow smiled. "I love you too, Isabel!"

Taking that as her cue to leave, a smiling Moira Queen, who was just happy that all of her children and grandchildren were safely home, quickly left the room before Isabel and Oliver started kissing, a sweet innocent motion that soon turned into a make-out session that lasted nearly five minutes before Isabel finally pulled away and smacked Oliver in the arm hard and said. "And don't you ever go dying on me again while trying to save my life, Oliver!"

The blonde billionaire shook his head and smiled. "I'll only promise that if you can promise never to risk your life for mine."

Isabel's face fell a little. "Actually, that may be an easier promise for me to make than you might think, Oliver. You see…"

But Oliver and Isabel's discussion was soon cut short when a Japanese man clad in full League of Assassins gear, a man who Oliver soon recognized was Sarab, formerly known as Maseo, opened the door into the room and cleared his throat. "I hope I am not interrupting anything, master, but your absence from Nanda Parbat has been a long one, and some of your assassins are starting to get restless with inactivity. Now that you have regained your faculties, we must know what your orders for us are."

Oliver looked from Sarab to Isabel in confusion. "What is he talking about Isabel? Why is Sarab calling me master and asking for orders for 'my assassins?' What is going on?"

The hazel-eyed woman sighed. "Sarab explained it to me while they were bringing us here. The League of Assassins had a prophecy, a prophecy that was made when the man that you killed became Ra's al Ghul over a century ago. That prophecy stated that a man would come who would be wounded by the Demon's blade, and then that man himself would kill Ra's al Ghul. Then that man would become the next Ra's al Ghul. That's why the League of Assassins brought you back from the dead, Oliver! You fulfilled their prophecy!"

Oliver looked back and forth between Isabel and Sarab for several seconds as the full implications of Isabel's words sank in. "What are you two saying, exactly?!"

Sarab bowed low to the ground, below the top of Oliver's bed, then presented the blonde man with a certain diamond ring. "You are now Ra's al Ghul, The Demon! I am at your command, sire, as is the League of Assassins! What are your orders now, master?!"

 **AN: So here we are, at the end of another chapter!** **As always, I would like to thank all of my readers, especially those of you who were kind enough to leave a review on my last chapter, including, in no particular order: Pootamis, Troll99, highlander348, and Phillipe363! Your input and continued support are greatly appreciated!**

 **First of all, I would just like to apologize now for the long section featuring Robert Queen, when I had previously stated that he would not be in this story again. When I made that promise, I had forgotten that this weird father and son conversation (if it actually happened at all) was coming up, and felt that, for the sake of the story, and for Oliver to experience some closure over his father's death, that conversation still needed to be posted! Again, I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to mislead any of you!**

 **Second, I hope that you are all happy about the return of Isabel, and with her, Olibel! Rest assured, however, that Isabel's (and her baby's) death and resurrection had a purpose to them, as those events caused many changes which you will soon discover!**

 **Third, I hope you liked some of the twists in this chapter, including how the Arrow's fight scene with Ra's al Ghul ended, and Oliver now being named the next Ra's al Ghul! Originally, I was not going to have the Arrow kill the Demon, because I consider Ra's to be more of a Batman villain, and I was going to have Bruce deal with him. But as the story went on, after Isabel and her baby were killed, I realized that I wanted Oliver to kill Ra's now! Even so, however, I wanted to respect DC comics, and Batman movie lore by having the Batman have a hand in the Demon's ultimate downfall, and by having Bruce be the only person who had beat the Demon in single combat outright. But please tell me, what do you think of these decisions concerning how Ra's Al Ghul was dispatched!?**

 **And finally, dear readers, thank you again for all of your support and input! I hope you liked the chapter, but please let me know what you honestly think of it! And a huge thank you goes out to my beta-reader, without whom the reader reception to my fanfics would be colder than Nanda Parbat! Your help is greatly appreciated!**

 **Until next time, I am…**

 **-supercode**


	12. New Year, New Joys, New Problems

Oliver Queen looked down from his bed at the kneeling Sarab, and the Demon's head ring that the latter party was holding in his hands, for several seconds before he spoke. "And what if I say no? What if I refuse to be your Ra's al Ghul? What if leading an organization full of Assassins isn't something that I want?! Can't you all pick someone else to lead you?!"

Sarab remained kneeling, but he lifted his eyes to Oliver now. "There is no one else that fulfills the prophecy, Oliver Queen! You must be the new Ra's al Ghul! And refusing your rightful place among our organization would be…unwise. Not only would some assassins resent you for refusing the great honor of being the Demon's Head, a refusal of that title may cause a civil war in our organization! I predict that many would be Ra's al Ghuls may attempt to harm you and your family in an attempt to secure their own claim on the title!"

Oliver sighed. "And what about you, old friend? Would you go to war against me if I choose not to be Ra's al Ghul?"

Sarab shook his head emphatically. "No, my liege! My loyalty is to Ra's al Ghul, and like it or not, you are him! So I will never turn against you or try to harm you! But if you do not formally accept the title of Ra's al Ghul, I will not be able to protect you from the calamities that fall on everyone you love!"

Oliver nodded, then with great effort, and a little help from Isabel, the Arrow stood up. "Rise, Sarab! I will be your Ra's al Ghul, but I do not need you, or any other man, to grovel at my feet in order to stroke my ego! That practice ends today!"

"Yes, master!" Sarab rose to his feet and presented the ring to Oliver Queen again while standing up this time, and the Arrow allowed his old friend to put the ring on his appropriate finger while Isabel looked on in worry but said nothing. The Japanese man was almost smiling when he spoke again. "You have made a very wise decision, Ra's al Ghul! One that your followers will appreciate! After all, not only were you the old Demon's equal in combat, you also have more….sand left in your hour glass, as it were, and you already possess an heir as well! And if he is half as smart as I overheard some of your family members say he is, Connor will be a fine Ra's al Ghul himself one day!"

Oliver saw Isabel's eyes widen in horror, and he couldn't say that he felt any better about the thought of Connor being the Demon's Head in the future than Isabel, but he kept his expression blank as Sarab kept speaking. Meanwhile, the archer continued to think about how he could use the League's resources for as long as he needed to before he found a way to wriggle out of his new position as Ra's al Ghul long before he died and Connor could ever be asked to take his place. The Arrow pushed that thought aside, however, after the assassin and former friend in front of him continued speaking. "So, what are your orders, Ra's al Ghul?"

Oliver was just barely able to keep himself from rolling his eyes as he replied. "Well, first of all, I would like to order you to just call me 'Oliver' instead of Ra's al Ghul, but I'm assuming that neither you, nor any of the other assassins, would comply with that order, would you, Maseo?"

Sarab shook his head, and the emerald archer guessed that the Japanese man was about to lecture him on the League of Assassins requiring people to leave their old names and lives behind, and that Sarab was going to remind him that he was called 'Sarab' now, but Oliver spoke first. "No? I thought not. Fine. In that case, my first order of business is that, as the current Ra's al Ghul, I hereby rescind the kill-order that my predecessor put on Nyssa and Sara Lance. My predecessor had a grudge against them, but I do not. Nor do I think that it is likely that Nyssa would want to avenge her father, who wanted her killed, or attempt to take my place as Master of Assassins. Oh, and if any assassin does come in contact with Nyssa or Sara, they are to tell them that they are no longer scheduled for termination, and that I would like them to come back to Starling City as soon as possible because I might need their help very soon. But no harm is to come to either of them."

Isabel nodded her approval of Oliver's declaration while Sarab inclined his head slightly forward in a gesture of obedience. "It will be as you say, master. If the Canary, as your call her, or Nyssa, refuse to come back to Starling City, do you want them brought back by force?"

Oliver shook his head while Isabel looked on, saying nothing. "No. I am hereby releasing both Nyssa (formerly 'Al Ghul') and Sara Lance from any and all obligations to the League of Assassins. They are free to do as they wish, but I would like them to be told that I would very much appreciate it if they came back to Starling City to help the League, and Team Arrow, with a new Undertak…."

Seeing Isabel raise her eyebrow at Oliver's choice of words, the archer sighed and amended them. "Mission. A mission I will be telling you, as well as my own team about…shortly"

The blonde billionaire was thankful when his co-CEO nodded in understanding after receiving his silent plea to be patient and wait until he told her what was going on. Not waiting for Sarab to respond to his first order, the gray-eyed man gave his second order to the Japanese man. "The second order of business concerns a debt that I owe to a friend. I owe a man named Barry Allen a favor."

Now, Isabel did interrupt, as she remembered the wise-cracking police scientists turned superhero that had helped her save Oliver Queen from Slade Wilson a while back, but who had refused to help Team Arrow during their first mission to Nanda Parbat, the mission where Isabel had died, again, because he was busy chasing the Reverse Flash, who was still nowhere to be found. "What does that irresponsible kid have to do with any of this? He wasn't there when we needed him during the mission on Nanda Parbat! You don't owe him anything!"

Oliver sighed. "Actually. It's just the opposite. I owe Barry Allen everything. You see…" Oliver gave Isabel a pointed look, letting her know that some of what he was saying right now was for Sarab's benefit. "He found a way to contact the Flash and get him to help me on my second mission to Nanda Parbat. I wouldn't have been able to bring back Tommy, or you, or the baby, without his help."

The brunette simply nodded then, as her boyfriend turned back towards Sarab. "That is why I owe Barry Allen a debt. A debt the League will now help me pay as quickly as possible, since I am still feeling too weak to move around much yet. You see, when Barry Allen was a child, his mother was murdered by a meta-human, and his father ended up getting wrongfully imprisoned for that murder. Now, you are going to help me right that wrong."

Oliver gave Sarab a serious look. "In the office on the first floor of this mansion, there is a desk. In the third drawer down, on the right hand side of the desk, there is a hidden compartment on the bottom which holds a single file. This file contains info on a known serial killer who died three years ago in prison, by the name of Xavier Harkness. I want him framed for the murder of Nora Allen, and for the police to find that false evidence so that Henry Allen can finally be freed from prison, since the trail on Nora's real killer has gone cold. Can the League do this for me?"

Sarab looked troubled as he replied. "It shall be done, sire. But are you certain you do not want us to try to find Nora Allen's true killer in the meantime? The League can help you get true justice for your friend's mother and…"

Oliver shook his head and interrupted his old friend. "No, Sarab. I do not think this 'Reverse Flash' will be turning up anywhere anytime soon. Besides, I will be needing all of the League's resources very soon to help take on a much bigger threat. An old enemy of mine, and an even older enemy of the League of Assassins. I will give you, and the other members of the League in Nanda Parbat, more information concerning that mission, soon. But they need to know that my mission will require me to spend a great deal of time in Starling City, and I that I will need a day or two more to rest before I can journey to Nanda Parbat to address the rest of the assassins. Now, you have your orders. If there isn't anything else old friend, I have something I want to sa…"

But Oliver's words died on his lips as he caught his reflection, which showed he was now naked from the waist up, although his lower body was covered by thick green pajama bottoms. The emerald archer was stunned to discover that all of his old scars and tattoos (including his Bratva tattoo, which Oliver knew he would need to have reapplied to his skin) were gone, courtesy of the Lazarus Pit! However, even as he was putting on a pullover shirt from one of his dressers drawers, the archer wondered about the origins of a small cut under his right eye that was in a similar, but not the exact same, position as the now non-existent wound he had received from a near miss from one of Malcolm Merlyn's arrows only a few days ago …

The Arrow's thoughts were interrupted as Sarab added in a calm voice. "Actually, master, there is another issue that needs to be addressed. You see, after both you and Ra's al Ghul died, the League had to take some…unorthodox actions, only the first of which was resurrecting you, in order to insure that the League did not go without leadership for too long and risk descending into chaos. For this reason, and the fact that your predecessor died before it was decided you would be the next Ra's al Ghul, we accelerated your ascension to that status before making you go through the traditional League initiation that you would have had to undergo as _Wareth al Ghul_ , the Heir to the Demon. Traditionally, you would have been required to destroy your old home, in this case, Starling City, thus proving your loyalty to the League of Assassins above all others, before your ascension to the Demon's Head. However, now that you are Ra's al Ghul, you will be expected to…"

"Oliver is not going to destroy Starling City!" Isabel proclaimed loudly before her boyfriend put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

The Arrow then calmly looked at Sarab, although there was now an edge to his voice. "Isabel is right. I will not allow the League to Destroy Starling City, for three reasons. One, as you yourself said, the League of Assassins has already broken tradition by making me Ra's al Ghul even though I was never _Wareth al Ghul_ , so there is no reason that we can't break tradition again by not destroying my old home here in Starling City. Two, when my predecessor ruled over the League of Assassins, he promised, on the League's behalf, that our organization would not harm any of my friends and loved ones…a promise that was made to me that I would have to force you to break if I had you destroy Starling. And that is not something I am willing to do. Finally, as I said before, the League will be needing to use Starling City as a base of operations for a while once we have engaged the enemy I will tell you about soon. So it would not be strategically advantageous for me to destroy Starling. "

The archer took a deep breath. "For all these reasons, I swear, upon my word as Ra's al Ghul, that the League of Assassins will not destroy Starling City, and anyone in the League who has a problem with that can feel free to challenge me to single combat as soon as I have regained my strength!"

Sarab, who understood the last, unspoken part of that message: "And that challenger will lose!", spoke in a respectful, submissive tone again now. "As you will, my lord. If there is nothing else you require of me now, may I take my leave of you?"

Oliver interrupted the Asian man's words, as the blonde man pointed to the new cut on his face. "Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me where this came from."

Isabel choose that moment to chime in. "I can tell you that, Oliver. My memory of that time is still a bit fuzzy, but, right after you were revived in the Lazarus Pitt, shortly after I was resurrected, you were…how can I put this? You seemed like you had gone mad, Oliver! You were yelling thrashing around, hitting and kicking many of the assassins that tried to get near you to help you to a bedroom, and I think you even tried to choke one of them to death! That was the one who drew a knife on you and gave you that cut while he was trying to defend himself from you!"

Sarab spoke in an angry tone now. "We do not speak of that man anymore! He betrayed the League when he dared to lay hands on Ra's al Ghul! That dishonorable man will be executed soon for his crime against you and the League! He should have been willing to die at the hands of the Demon's Head rather than lay a finger on you!"

Oliver had a guilty look on his face now. "So, you're saying that he is scheduled to be executed because he was defending himself from me when I wasn't in my right mind?! No, I will not allow that! See to it that this man is released from confinement immediately and given back his possessions and rank within the League of Assassins! And once more, when I get to Nanda Parbat, I will personally apologize to that man for almost killing him, even if I wasn't in my right mind at the time!"

Sarab hesitated at that pronouncement. "But, my lord! Laying hands on Ra's al Ghul has always been punishable by death within the League of Assassins, and…."

Oliver nodded. "I understand, old friend. And that seems like a good rule. But these were exceptional circumstances, and I am going to make an exception now, since I attacked this man without provocation when I wasn't in my right mind, and he was just defending himself. So, he will be released."

Sarab had a stoic look on his face now, but in his thoughts, he couldn't help but wonder at the new Ra's al Ghul's mercy. "It shall be done."

Oliver sighed. "That will be all. You are free to start executing the orders I assigned you now, then return to Nanda Parbat to await further orders. Unless, of course, you would like me to release you from your duties to the League of Assassins. I am willing to do that for you now, old friend. To give you back your life. You could be Maseo again. Maybe even go back to your wife, who last I heard, was still looking for you…"

Sarab paused for several seconds then, and Oliver could tell the Japanese man was tempted by the offer, but the assassin eventually shook his head. "No. My place is with the League of Assassins now. Maseo is dead. His sorrows killed him after his son died. I am Sarab now. And I shall execute your directives immediately, then return to Nanda Parbat, Ra's al Ghul! May your reign as the Demon be a long one!"

The Arrow nodded as Sarab exited the room, but not before the blonde man added. "Fine. But the offer of release from the League will remain available to you, if you ever want it."

The blonde billionaire sighed before turning to his girlfriend, whose stoic face could not hide her sorrow and confusion about what Sarab had just said. Or at least, she couldn't hide her feelings from Oliver, who already knew those eyes so well. The male CEO spoke. "That man was an old friend of mine from Hong Kong. He went by the name Maseo Yamashiro back then. But after his son died years ago…He wasn't the same after that. He left his wife in Hong Kong that day because he said he wanted to be alone with his grief. I guess he turned to the League of Assassins to help him deal with his pain, because the next time I saw him was during the second mission to Nanda Parbat, when the last Ra's al Ghul referred to him as one of his most trusted assassins."

The male CEO gazed meaningfully at his female counterpart. "But I don't want to talk about him right now. I want to talk about you, and about what you were about to say about not needing to worry about you dying. Why did you say that?"

Isabel's expression went from serious to a little sad then, but the switch was so subtle that only someone who knew Isabel well, like Oliver did, could see it. "Yeah. About that. Shortly after you and I arrived back at the Queen mansion and Felicity called Star Labs to tell them the mission to revive me and Tommy had been a success, Doctor Snow insisted on running test on you, me, and Tommy. I dimly remember you and I both being rather uncooperative with her, but…Doctor Snow gave you and Tommy a clean bill of health, apart from your memory loss. And our baby, as far as she could tell, is doing fine as well, although he or she seems to be developing slightly more quickly in my womb than usual, but I…"

The brunette sighed. "Nobody knows exactly how it happened, but according to Caitlin, my healing factor has vastly increased its potency since Nanda Parbat. I think the Lazarus Pit, interacting with my meta-human abilities, might have been to blame. All that Dr. Snow was able to determine from the tests she did on me was that my healing factor is a lot more powerful now. We're not sure how powerful yet, but Caitlin said that my healing factor is strong enough that she doesn't know if anything short of decapitation could kill me now, and that my system should be virtually immune to most drugs and poisons. That's the good news…" Isabel illustrated her point by drawing out a knife she had hidden in her dress and making a shallow cut on the palms of her left hand…a cut which healed in less than a second before an amazed Oliver Queen's amazed eyes.

The brunette sighed while she took a tissue out of a nearby box in Oliver's room and used it to clean the blood of her hand even as her boyfriend waited patiently for his girlfriend to talk again. That, and Oliver was too dumbstruck to speak right now. So the Russian woman spoke instead. "But there is some bad news that comes along with that. Dr. Snow said she would have to run more tests to be sure of the results, and I didn't understand everything she told me about "free radicals" and shortening DNA chains, or something like that, but…the long and short of it is…My cells aren't aging anymore, at least not to any degree that Star Labs can measure. I'm not aging anymore."

Oliver took in the gravity of this statement for a moment while watching Isabel's troubled expression before he replied. "Okay, so you aren't aging anymore. And that frightens you for some reason, doesn't it?!"

The female CEO nodded. "Yes. A great deal actually. Because I've already outlived a lot of people that I loved, Oliver, and now it seems like I could outlive everyone else I care about too! And that is not something I want to go through again! I don't want to outlive you, Connor, and if my healing factor isn't passed down to him or her, our baby! I don't want that! I can't be alone again, I just can't! But Dr. Snow says she thinks the changes to my body may be permanent, and…"

The brunette's boyfriend interrupted her words with a hug as he took in the sight of Isabel's eyes, which seemed to be struggling to hold back tears. The archer shook his head. "You won't be alone, Isabel! No matter what happens from here on out, you are part of the Queen family now, and the Queens take care of their own! So, even if you do outlive me, Connor, and our baby, you will have family to watch over and love for generations! Grandchildren, great grandchildren, hopefully one day, Thea's children and grandchildren, and so one! You will always have a place with the Queens, and …"

The Arrow stopped short of what he wanted to say, which was something to the effect of: "Besides, even if you can't spend the rest of your life with me, I still want to spend the rest of my life with you!" And also, "I'm sorry that resurrecting you may have doomed you to an unnaturally long life in which you will have to watch so many of the people you love die, but I just couldn't let you and our baby stay dead!" Oliver did not want to freak Isabel out further by indirectly bringing up the subject of wanting to have a life-long relationship with the brunette, just yet, or risk making his girlfriend more upset with him by reminding her that it was mostly his fault that she would probably be cursed with immortality, or something like it, for the rest of her life.

However, despite the fact that the Arrow had left his last spoken sentence incomplete, the Midnight Sentinel was still comforted by his words, even though she still seemed a little upset, as she hugged Oliver back. "Thank you, Oliver! Thank you for reminding me that I will always have something to live for, and that I will never be alone, no matter how long I live! I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Isabel!" Oliver reluctantly pulled away from his girlfriend after a little over a minute. "But there's something else we need to talk about. And I don't think you are going to like it!"

When the hazel-eyed woman silently prompted Oliver to continue speaking, the gray-eyed man did so. "I don't want you to do any more missions or patrols for Team Arrow until our baby is born. I know I can't force you not to go out there, and I'm okay with you continuing to train to keep your skills sharp, as long as it is safe for you to do so, but…Even though it sounds like you are a lot harder to kill now…after your last mission, I am still concerned about whether or not our baby would be safe if you were to go into the field again, since I don't know if your healing factor has been passed down to our child, and…"

The female CEO placed her right hand on Oliver's lips and sighed. "I understand. And I actually agree with you. I'm not happy about the idea of not being able to help you in combat situations, but…I still feel bad about endangering our baby the way I did when I forced my way onto the Nanda Parbat mission, even though I thought that task would be a lot safer than it was. And although you were able to bring us both back…dying for a second time really put a lot of things into perspective for me. So, if staying out of the field for a little while is what it takes to keep our baby safe, I will do it! But that just means I will have to put that much more energy into training to keep myself in fighting shape as long as I safely can…and that I will have to protect you the only other way I know how…by pouring a lot more of my time and attention into training you, as well as Thea! And make no mistake, Oliver, with that much more time on my hands, I will find even more ways to push both of you to your absolute limits in order to make you stronger and smarter!"

The Arrow gulped, then awkwardly added. "Yeah. And you might want to make some room in your schedule for training Laurel Lance, and possibly Helena Bartinelli, who I recall telling you about a few weeks ago, and who should be getting out of prison soon, as well! They both have…some fighting experience, and they want to help Team Arrow out. I know it's a lot to ask for you to train two of my exes, but soon the League and Team Arrow will need all the help we can get taking down the foe I will tell you and the rest of our team about later today, I will be busy running the League and helping manage QC, and I figured you wouldn't want me personally training two of my ex-girlfriends anyway. So I hope you wouldn't mind…"

"Actually, Oliver, getting the chance to put your exes through their paces will be my pleasure!"

The unsettling grin on Isabel's face now told Oliver that his current girlfriend was most likely going to be putting a lot of time and effort into putting two of his exes through a living hell very soon. And the emerald archer knew that the hazel eyed woman in front of him would enjoy every second of it.

* * *

After their conversation in the blonde man's bedroom, Oliver and Isabel proceeded to get themselves cleaned up, a process which included a very long, steamy shower that Isabel and Oliver shared, and probably enjoyed a little too much, if them taking so long they ran out of hot water was any indication, and got dressed. After making their tired bodies presentable as best as they could, the couple decided to do something they knew they had already put off for too long. They needed to talk to Connor.

When Oliver and Isabel went to see the archer's son in his room that evening, however, they discovered that the little boy was not alone. After knocking on Connor's door, the couple was greeted by the smiling face of Moira Queen, while further inside the room, a little blonde boy and a small girl with red hair and glasses were playing. The Queen matriarch spoke. "So glad you two could finally join us! I was just telling Connor and his friend Anna here that you were feeling better, Oliver! I'm glad you are both finally joining the waking world, because as much fun as Connor has had playing with his friend over the past couple days, I know he has missed you a lot, and he asks about you all the time."

Oliver noted with a smile that he would never know that from looking at Connor and Anna. The two children seemed to be acting out some kind of game while playing with a small doll and a cop action figure, respectfully. On the contrary, Anna and Connor looked like they were in their own little world together at the moment.

The Arrow turned to his mother. "I don't know how you were able to get the orphanage to let Anna visit with Connor while I was gone, but thank you for doing that, mom! I've tried multiple times to get Happyfields to do just that, but the person who runs that place wouldn't allow it after he heard there was a fight at Connor's party last time. How did you manage to get the orphanage to change its mind?!"

Moira smirked. "Well, this may be hard to believe, Oliver, but sometimes a mayor has a little more influence than a CEO! I simply mentioned the possibility of having a word with the governor of California about giving Happyfields enough funding to open up another orphanage in Starling City, and using my influence to get the support of the Starling City Council behind that initiative, and all kinds of doors opened up! Speaking of which…"

The eldest Queen had a proud look on her face now that her son knew she reserved for occasions in which his mother believed she had accomplished something impressive. "You know the Jones', right, Oliver? That couple that lives just a couple miles down the road from here. The ones who retired early a few years ago after making a fortune in the oil industry in Texas? The third wealthiest couple in Starling City?"

Oliver nodded. He didn't really know the Jones that well, to be honest, because he had only just met them at the Moira's welcome back to Queen Consolidated party months ago. But Harry and Jane Jones, both of whom were in their late 30's, had seemed like a nice enough couple then, even though they had, so far, reluctantly declined to invest in QC, citing their concerns that the Undertaking might have permanently damaged Queen Consolidated in the eyes of numerous stockholders.

Taking her son's nod as confirmation, Moira continued speaking. "Well, I've been friends of theirs for years, and shortly after the little incident at Connor's party, the Jones set up a private meeting with me and confided in me that they had been trying to have children, unsuccessfully, for years, and that they had started looking into adoption. Then they said that the 'little red headed girl with glasses' that they saw at Connor's party had caught their eye, and they had decided they wanted to adopt Anna. They asked if I would be willing to be a character reference for them during the adoption process, I told them I would think about it. After having a thorough background check done on the Jones that didn't raise any red flags, I vouched for them with the management of Happyfields, and…long story short, the Jones have already had several visits with Anna, which Harry and Jane told me went very well, and Happyfields recently approved their adoption request for Anna! They should be able to bring Anna home within a week! And, here's the best part, Oliver! Since they already knew Anna and Connor are close friends, the Jones also agreed to that they would continue to allow Anna to have supervised play-dates with Connor after they adopted her! I hope I didn't overstep my bounds when I agreed to let Anna and Connor continue spending time together after Anna's adoption goes through, but you were still amnesiac and bed-ridden at the time and…"

Oliver didn't respond with words, since he was so overwhelmed with happiness at this moment. Instead, the Arrow simply hugged his mother, leaving a smiling Isabel to speak for him. "What I think Oliver is trying to convey, Moira, is how much Oliver and I both appreciate everything you've done for Anna and Connor, and for helping take care of your grandson while he wasn't himself for a few days. And I would just like to reiterate my thankfulness that you were willing to put up with me while I was being a complete bit…"

The brunette woman quickly amended her words when she remembered that there were children in the room. "Not nice person to you and Thea. Thank you!"

Oliver nodded as he released his mother from the hug and took a step back. "Yes, thank you so much, mom!"

Moira sent a large smile towards Oliver's direction, and a slightly smaller, but just as heartfelt, grin towards Isabel. "You are both very welcome, it was my pleasure! After all, what is family for, if not looking out for each other?!"

Isabel, who had already been told by Thea that Oliver had told his sister and mother about her pregnancy, just smiled and nodded back to the Queen matriarch, but she couldn't get a word of response in edge-wise before she was interrupted by what almost appeared to be a streak of blond and white as Connor, who had finally noticed that his dad and Isabel were in the room, barreled towards Oliver and wrapped him in a hug, while nearly knocking his father to the floor with his momentum. "Daddy! You're finally up! Are you feeling better now! Isabel told me you were sick, like she had been sick, and that I couldn't see you until you were feeling better and…"

The emerald archer smiled and hugged his son right back. "Hey, Connor! It's good to see you too! And yes, I'm feeling a lot better now!"

Anna, who had gotten up from the ground and put her toy away at about the same time Connor had, looked up towards Oliver's eyes, and the Arrow couldn't help but notice that the little red-headed girl seemed a lot more confident now then she had been at Connor's party as she spoke. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Queen! I'm glad you are feeling better now!"

Oliver laughed as he released his son from his hug and looked at Connor's friend. "Thank you, Anna! But you don't need to call me 'Mr. Queen.' That was my father's name. You can call me Oliver!"

Anna did look a little uncertain now, but after a moment's hesitation, she managed to speak again. "Okay…Oliver! It was nice to see you again!"

The emerald archer nodded. "It was nice to meet you again too!"

Moira looked between Connor, Isabel, and Oliver, then spoke while turning to Anna. "Anna, it's almost time for you to be back at Happyfields, and my son, grandson, and Isabel have a lot to discuss, so you're going to have to say goodbye to Connor and everyone else now before I escort you back to the orphanage. But you will get to ride in my family's limo again, and that will be fun, right!?"

Anna and Connor both groaned in irritation at having to be separated again, but the two of them reluctantly said goodbye anyway, and Anna said farewell to Oliver and Isabel, before the now sullen-looking girl left the room. Oliver and Isabel then looked towards a Connor, who seemed slightly sadder now than he had been when Anna was in the room. Finally, after several seconds of awkward silence in which nobody seemed to know what to say, the Midnight Sentinel finally spoke. "Connor, there was something we talked about two days ago, do you remember? Something I said that we would need to talk to your father about when he was feeling better…."

The son of the Arrow nodded, since he knew exactly what conversation Isabel was referring him to, but the little boy wasn't looking towards Isabel at the moment. Instead, he was looking at his father with an angry look in his eyes now. "I don't want to talk about that right now! I want my daddy to tell me why he lied to me! You told me Isabel was only a little sick before, but she was very sick! And then she made you sick, and neither one of you even remembered me for a while!"

Oliver quickly walked up to his now crying son and gave the boy a hug. "I'm so sorry that all of that happened, Connor! And you're right, I shouldn't have lied to you about how bad things were with Isabel! Because they were very bad, for a while. Worse than even you know. Worse than you need to know. But I…I just love you a lot Connor, and I was just trying to protect you! I didn't want you to be scared when Isabel was...out of commission for a while!"

Connor stepped away from his dad. "But I was still scared, dad! I was scared the whole time until grandma told me you were feeling better a couple hours ago! I love you too, dad, and I forgive you, but please, just don't leave me alone like that again!" Connor looked pointedly at both his father and Isabel now. "Either one of you!"

Now it was Isabel's turn to hug Connor, and the boy finally visibly started to calm down after his father spoke. "We promise we will do our best to stay safe from now on, Connor!"

Isabel nodded her agreement with her boyfriend's words, and then the brunette let Connor pull away from her hug as she spoke to the young blond boy she had come to love like her own son in such a short amount of time. "That's right, Connor. Your father and I promise we will try harder to be safe from now on! But there are two other things Oliver and I need to talk to you about, Connor, and you already know what one of them is. Would you like to ask your dad about this or should I ask…"

But Connor interrupted the brunette woman as he turned towards his dad. "Dad, is it okay for me to call Isabel mommy?! I know she not my birth mom, but she takes care of me, like you do, and I don't even remember Sandra, although I wish I could have known her, and I guess I thought it would be okay if…"

The Arrow's son hesitated, and his words hung in the air, but the vigilante got the gist of what Connor was saying. However, he was uncertain about how to reply to Connor's query. On the one hand, he didn't know if he would be dishonoring Sandra's memory if he said Connor could call Isabel "mommy." But, on the other hand…neither Oliver nor Connor had really known Sandra that well to begin with, and the emerald archer didn't want to discourage his son from bonding with the woman that the blonde billionaire now knew he was going to spend the rest of his life with. Taking all of these factors into consideration, it didn't take long for Oliver to make a decision. "Well, I suppose that…as long as you don't forget Sandra gave birth to you and loved you when she was alive, and Isabel is okay with you calling her mommy… Sure, that would be okay with me."

Connor looked up at Isabel with hope in his little gray eyes, and the brunette nodded. This small action caused Connor to run towards the hazel-eyed woman with outstretched arms, and the Midnight Sentinel bent down to accept the hug from her boyfriend's son as the little boy practically screamed. "Yay! I love you, mommy!"

Isabel smiled as she hugged Connor. "I love you too, Connor!" The brunette's smiling face became more serious however, when she resumed speaking. "But there's something else your father and I need to tell you."

The heroine looked over Connor's shoulder for a second, before the Arrow nodded that it was okay for her to divulge one of their secrets…a secret that the rest of the Queen family already knew. Oliver's son looked perplexed as Isabel pulled away from Connor's hug until the brunette spoke. "Pretty soon, Connor, you may not be the only person calling me mommy."

Connor's gray eyes still exhibited confusion. "What do you mean?"

Isabel looked to her co-CEO for support, and her boyfriend didn't disappoint her. "Connor…I guess I'll just go ahead and say it…Isabel and I, if everything goes as well as the doctor hopes it will…Isabel and I are going to have a baby. You might just have a new brother or sister soon!"

Both the Arrow and the Midnight Sentinel waited several anxious seconds for Connor's reaction, but, as it turns out, they needn't have worried. "I am going to have a brother or sister?! That is so cool! I always wanted to have a kid sister…or brother. It gets kind of lonely being the only kid in this house sometimes when I'm used to being around other kids at the orphanage, but…this is so cool!"

Oliver and Isabel smiled at each other as Connor continued his long rant about how excited he was to get a younger sibling soon. The couple was relieved that Connor was taking the news so well. However, they were a little worried about how disappointed Connor would be if their child didn't survive. But for now, Oliver and Isabel tried to push such thoughts aside and hope for the best…and let Connor do the same. Minutes later, Oliver and Isabel tucked the young boy into bed for the evening.

* * *

Minutes later, after Connor had gone to bed, and Oliver and Isabel had left the child alone in his room, the couple began walking towards one of the parlors in the Queen mansion. The parlor that Oliver had instructed all the members of Team Arrow to meet him at as soon as possible just before he and Isabel had went to speak with the Arrow's son. On their way to that room, however, the Arrow ran into Sarab, who had just looked over the file on Xavier Harkness, and who was about to leave the Queen mansion for Nanda Parbat. Before the Japanese man did so, however, he whispered something in Oliver's ear before walking out the front door of the mansion.

Isabel didn't know what was said, since she had purposely listened to other things going on in the Queen mansion so that she could keep her promise to Oliver by not eavesdropping on him. However, the Midnight Sentinel was definitely curious about what the assassin had told her boyfriend, since Oliver had looked directly at Isabel for several seconds after Sarab spoke to him. But before Isabel could ask Oliver what Sarab had told her, Oliver was already walking into the parlor to address Team Arrow, so the Russian woman followed while making a mental note to ask Oliver about his conversation with Sarab later.

Every other member of Team Arrow, besides Sara, was already in the room when Oliver and Isabel walked in. Diggle, Felicity, Roy, and even Thea, who everyone seemed to agree had earned her hero stripes on the first mission to Nanda Parbat, even though she didn't have a codename yet, were all assembled there in the parlor. Every single one of them was there to welcome Isabel and (mostly) Oliver back home, although Thea did say something under her breath to effect of "I would kick your ass right now, Ollie, for leaving Roy and behind on your last mission and dying on us! But I would feel bad about doing that when you are still recovering from the Lazarus Pit!", and Roy silently glared at the Arrow even as she shook his hand.

Before the meeting could get fully underway, however, Felicity started speaking to Oliver and Isabel, going on a long rant about how Laurel wanted to be there to, but she had to take care of a still partially amnesiac, but recovering, Tommy, but it was taking him longer then Oliver and Isabel for some reason, and asking if the Arrow and Midnight Sentinel could please take back control of the company soon because she understood the forms and business jargon just fine, but she didn't have Oliver's charisma or Isabel's intimidating presence with the board of directors, and she mentioned having to fire Isabel's old executive assistant, who was screwing up all the paperwork that Felicity gave her and hiring a new, better assistant for herself (temporarily), and Isabel, and by the way, Anatoli had already dropped by Starling City to reclaim the Ghost, and to wish one of his captains a speedy recovery…

Oliver stopped his friend's long, rambling, run on sentence by putting his hand on her shoulder and assuring her he and Isabel would go back to the office as soon as possible. Isabel just smirked and reminded Felicity to use the breathing exercises she had taught her in order to calm down. Once that was out of the way, and Team's Arrow's IT expert had calmed down, Oliver decided to begin the briefing.

The Arrow sighed "Okay, since I'm told I still need some time to rest, and I will most likely be needing to head to Nanda Parbat soon to address the assassins about this same subject, I am going to keep this short. I don't plan or remaining Ra's al Ghul for long, and I will find a way out of being the Demon's Head as soon as I can. But in the meantime, I will need the League's resources for our next mission. You see, in order to secure the stealth jet I used to get to Nanda Parbat undetected when I went to resurrect Isabel and Tommy, I had to make a deal with Anatoli and the Bratva. A very dangerous deal that I can't back out on. I agreed to kill Damien Darhk, the leader of HIVE. A very dangerous terrorist organization that some of us…especially Diggle here, are all too familiar with."

Everyone except John Diggle nodded at that. At this point, everybody in Team Arrow knew that HIVE had been the organization that had hired the assassin known as Deadshot to kill John Diggle's younger brother, Andy. But the African American man fumed at the mere mention of HIVE. "Well, it's about damn time! It's been months since we learned that HIVE was behind my brother's murder! I can't kill Deadshot, since I promised not to in exchange for him helping me save Lyla, but now…finally, we have the resources to find and destroy the man who ordered my brother killed!"

Diggle had an intense look in his eyes when he turned to Oliver. "But know this, Oliver! As much as I still want answers as to why my little brother was killed, what I want even more is to finally exact justice on the man who ordered his murder! I want to be the one who personally puts a bullet in Damien's head!"

Everyone stared at the usually calm John Diggle after his understandable outburst, before Oliver spoke. "And I will do everything in my power to give you the chance. But I need the League of Assassins for that, and I need you to be able to keep a cool head if you want to be part of this mission. Can you do that, Diggle?"

Diggle exhaled loudly, and the tension in his body visibly lessened. "Yeah. I can do that, Oliver. As long as you keep your word to let me kill Damien, I'll be alright."

Team Arrow was silent after that, and the Arrow turned to the frightened, determined, and angry looking faces of his team members. "I don't have any other Intel to tell you for now, and I will let you all, especially Diggle, know as soon as I know more. In the meantime, please excuse me, everyone, but I need to rest before my next trip to Nanda Parbat to tell the assassins the same thing I just told all of you. Thank you all for showing up."

After saying a quick goodbye to everyone, and telling an anxious Felicity that everything would be alright and that Team Arrow would work together to take down Damien Darhk, Oliver quickly began walking back towards his and Isabel's bedroom. And predictably, Isabel followed him, an action which Oliver showed his appreciation for by squeezing her right hand with his left briefly. The brunette still had a lot of questions about Team Arrow's mission to kill Damien, but she knew she would get the answers in time. Right now, Isabel choose to focus on this happy moment that she was sharing with her boyfriend, as she continued to marvel at the fact that both her and Oliver were alive and together again. With that in mind, Isabel decided that there was something important that she needed to tell Oliver as soon as she and her boyfriend got to the bedroom they shared.

* * *

Oliver shut the door to the bedroom behind Isabel and himself moments later. The Arrow knew that there was something important he had to ask Isabel now, but he wasn't quite sure how to ask it. After all, Isabel had made it quite plain to him a while ago how she felt about marriage. But Oliver knew he and Isabel would have to sort through all of his girlfriend's concerns about matrimony soon. For two reasons.

The first, and as far as Oliver was concerned, the most important reason that he knew he needed to talk to Isabel again about the possibility of getting married was the way he had felt when Isabel had died, again, after the mission to Nanda Parbat. In short, the Arrow had felt like the entire world had simply dropped out from underneath him at that time, and the emerald archer had been cast into an emotional free fall that seemed to never end….until he woke up in his bedroom with Isabel alive in front of him. And it was that moment that Oliver knew he could not truly live without Isabel.

Oh, Oliver could physically survive without the brunette, sure. The Arrow was good at surviving. But without Isabel, he couldn't truly live as anything but an empty shell of himself that could only feel pain, fear, and anger. And even thought Oliver Queen had many other friends and family members that he loved dearly, only Isabel had been able to truly fill the emotional void in his soul after he came home from the island. She was the only one that could make him feel whole, and human.

For all of these reasons, Oliver now knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Isabel Rochev. The fact that the Russian born woman was going to have his baby didn't have anything to do with that, or Oliver's desire to marry her. However, Isabel's pregnancy did lend a certain amount of urgency concerning the timing of proposing to Isabel, since the blonde billionaire wanted to marry his the woman he loved more than life itself before she bore his child. Therefore, although Isabel's pregnancy did not affect Oliver's desire to marry her one way or another (he knew he would not have asked Sandra to marry him, for example, if she had lived, because he did not love her), that pregnancy did lend a certain urgency to that decision.

The second reason that the emerald archer knew that he needed to talk to Isabel about the subject of marriage fairly soon was something that Sarab had told him just before he had left the Queen mansion. The Japanese man had explained to him that, since Oliver, the current Ra's al Ghul, was not currently married, which was another violation of tradition, since a man usually had to be married before earning that title, many of the females in the League of Assassins had offered themselves to be the bride of the Demon. Several female assassins were, even now, squabbling over which one of them would marry Oliver and gain the respect that the coveted position of the Demon's Head's bride came with.

More to the point, some of the female assassins on Nanda Parbat had already proclaimed that they wanted to challenge the Demon's current mate, Isabel Rochev, in combat for Oliver's hand. And Sarab said that these challenges would continue until Oliver had chosen a bride. Since Oliver really wanted to avoid the possibility that Isabel might have to kill any women that challenged her for his own hand, this situation also lent a certain urgency concerning how he and Isabel were going to come to an agreement on the subject of marriage.

However, before the Arrow's thoughts concerning the subject of marriage to the Midnight Sentinel could trouble him any further, Isabel surprised him by speaking. "Oliver, there's something I want to talk to you about. I've been giving this a lot of thought over the past few days, when you…weren't quite yourself. This whole ordeal since Nanda Parbat had taught me two things. One, how much I love and need you. And two, that none of us really knows how long we have on this earth. Dying two times, and watching the after-effects of your own death have taught me that. Even with the Lazarus Pit, and my healing factor, one or both of us could still be chopped to pieces, or blown up, or any one of a number of things that we couldn't come back from, any day now, so…"

Isabel sighed while holding back tears. "I just want you to know how much I love you, Oliver. And that, even if I can't spend the rest of my life with you, because of my healing factor, I at least want to spend the rest of your life with you! And therefore…"

Isabel opened up one of the drawers that had been designated as "hers" since she had moved into the mansion, and produced a small, familiar black box from the drawer, an action which almost made Oliver gasp. The ring that had caused an argument that had very nearly split him and Isabel up a short while ago had been missing ever since the morning after that argument. Oliver had feared that the precious object had been lost, or that Isabel may have thrown it away. The Arrow never would have dreamed that his fellow vigilante may have kept the engagement ring herself, but apparently, that is exactly what had happened!

The hazel eyed woman had a serious but loving expression on her face as she walked towards her stunned boyfriend, took his right hand in her own, and gently pried that hand open before placing the small black box in the archer's hand! "I've decided that whenever you decide to ask me to marry you properly…I will say yes. I'm not trying to pressure you, Oliver. I just wanted you to know that I had changed my mind on this subject, and that I love you very much!"

Oliver almost burst out laughing at the irony of his present situation, since Isabel had told him it would be okay to propose to her just before he was about to do that very thing. Thankfully the blonde man was able to keep his composure, and speak to his girlfriend. "I love you too, Isabel! And, in that case…"

Oliver Queen decided that explaining his reasons for making this decision could wait until later, so the blonde billionaire simply dropped to one knee and opened the black box in his hand in such a way that the engagement ring would be in Isabel's field of view. "Isabel Rochev, will you marry me?!"

The Russian woman's smile was almost a smirk now, although her boyfriend knew there was no malice, but only amusement, in that smirk, as Isabel simply took the engagement ring from the box, placed said ring on her left ring finger, and said, somewhat unnecessarily: "Yes."

The emerald archer's smile widened so much that it actually hurt a little, but his face took on a more confused expression when his fiancée calmly walked towards Oliver's bedroom door…then locked it. "Isabel? What…"

But Oliver never got the rest of that sentence out of his mouth before Isabel simultaneously drew Oliver into a deep kiss and practically tackled him onto the bed, initiating the longest love making session yet for the betrothed couple.

Oliver and Isabel's door would remain locked for the rest of the evening, and neither member of the couple even noticed when December 31st slipped right into January 1st. And thus, a whole new year began.

 **AN: Hello, readers! Once again, I would like to thank all of my readers, especially those of you who were kind enough to leave a review on my last chapter, including, in no particular order: Pootamis, Troll99, highlander348, Phillipe363, and WinterRain36! Your input and continued support are greatly appreciated!**

 **I don't really have that much else to say about this chapter, except that I hope you all understand my reasons for Isabel's choice to stay on the sidelines for a short while with the Arrow business (and don't worry, I have a plan, and Isabel will still be seeing some action later). Oh, and I hope none of you mind that I kept the new mission briefing short, but I just thought there wasn't much to say until Oliver got more intel on Damien. Also, this is the last chapter of this story before the epilogue, so I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! But please tell me what you really think of this chapter in a review! And thanks again for all of your input and support!**

 **And a huge thank you goes out to my beta-reader, without whom my writing would be uglier than a Scrabble board when none of the players are allowed to use vowels. Thank you so much for your indispensable help and support!**

 **Until next time, I am…**

 **-supercode**


	13. Bride of the Demon

The Fifth Session, Continued…

Dr. Silverson stroked his chin in interest after Oliver and Isabel told him some of the things that had occurred with them over the holidays. By their account, Isabel and the Queen family had one hell of a holiday season, which had included Oliver and Isabel almost breaking up, Connor getting kidnapped on Christmas Eve by his nanny due to a grudge the older woman had with Isabel and the Queen family, Isabel very nearly getting struck and killed by an 18 wheeler that Oliver had just barely managed to avoid when he crashed his motorcycle while Miss Rochev had been his passenger, and Oliver and Isabel having to take several days' vacation time to recuperate from that accident. To top it all off, Isabel pointed out one of the most obvious changes that had occurred in her relationship with Oliver Queen as she extended her left hand in order to let the counselor better examine the diamond ring on her finger that the therapist had noticed the second she and Oliver had walked through the door while the Russian American woman smiled widely and announced. "And, how it happened is a long story, but… Oliver and I are engaged!"

The older gentlemen just nodded his head while he thought over the version of the past holiday season's events that his clients had given him, because he knew that at least some of what Oliver and Isabel had told him had been a lie. Oh, there was some truth to wait the blonde man and brunette woman had told him, to be sure. Oliver's son had been kidnapped, as Dr. Silverson saw himself on a T.V. news report, and his clients were obviously engaged now. However, a lot of the other details of the story that Oliver and Isabel had told him about why they had been too busy to go to counseling seemed suspicious to him.

For one thing, it seemed odd that neither Oliver nor Isabel seemed to be badly hurt by the terrible motorcycle accident that they had described, with Oliver only having one small cut on his face, and Isabel being completely unscathed by the accident, as far as the counselor could tell. Furthermore, the fact that Isabel and Oliver seemed mostly unhurt by that incident made the co-CEOs' story that they had to take time off to recover from their injuries seem dubious. In point of fact, a lot of Oliver's reports about how he had received various injuries that he had come into three of his and Isabel's sessions with seemed…unlikely.

In truth, however, the counselor did have a theory about how the two CEOs in front of him spent their nights…since they both evidentially had the same height and build as a couple of the vigilantes that Starling City's media outlets couldn't stop talking about. However, Dr. Silverson didn't want to know if his theory was right or not, since he would be legally mandated to report Oliver and Isabel to the police if he had reason to believe that two of his clients were vigilantes who actively sought to beat up criminals on a regular basis. And the professional really didn't want to do that, since Oliver and Isabel were two of his favorite clients…and, incidentally, the therapist had secretly approved of the Arrow's work ever since the green-clad vigilante had saved his wife from a mugger a little over a year ago. Therefore, Dr. Silverson chose not to ask his clients about any of the particular discrepancies in their story which might lead the counselor to finding out something her really didn't want to know.

Instead, with time running short for the session, the Dr. quickly thought about which one of the two other things that Oliver and Isabel were still trying to hide from him to bring up right now. However, since the counselor's first hypothesis, that Isabel was pregnant, had substantial but not conclusive, evidence to support it (i.e. Isabel suddenly "needing" to have a fun-sized piece of chocolate in the middle of the session, as well how quickly the blonde and brunette had decided to get married shortly after having a major argument on the subject of marriage), Dr. Silverson decided to bring up the more obvious fact that his patients were trying to hide from him.

The counselor tried not to look smug as he smiled. "Actually, based upon the ring indentation on your left ring-finger, Mr. Queen, I would hazard to guess that you and Isabel are already married. I'm assuming you two eloped, but that you were trying to keep the marriage a secret until you could have a more formal wedding. Am I wrong?"

The young couple stared at the therapist in shock for several seconds before Oliver could reply. In truth, he had chosen to wear his League of Assassins' ring on his left ring finger since shortly after he and Isabel had decided to get married, just until he could buy and wear a more proper wedding band, but he only did so around Isabel, his family members, or other members of the League. Only now did Oliver and Isabel see that had been a slip-up, since the ring-mark on Oliver's finger was still evidence that he and Isabel had already been, sort of, married. Finally, the Arrow decided to respond to the therapist's comment with a laugh, while Isabel chimed in with a chuckle of her own, before Oliver finally admitted the truth. "Alright, you caught us, doc! Yeah, Isabel and I did sort of elope, but we are trying to keep our marriage a secret until we have the obligatory huge Queen family wedding later this year in order to make my mom happy."

The older man raised an eyebrow in interest. There seemed to be a lot of things that happened over the last few weeks in his client's lives that he didn't know about! "So…the fact that you two decided to get married in the first place hasn't caused any waves between you two and our Mayor considering Isabel's…unique history with your family, Oliver?"

The Midnight sentinel who answered the question for her husband. "Actually, no. That decision for us to get married hasn't been a problem at all for Moira. I mean, yes, I think Oliver's mother is a little concerned that my relationship to her son has progressed this quickly, but, no...Moira and I are actually starting to get along a lot better now, and I think she and I have finally managed to put our…"

Isabel coughed awkwardly. "Past issues aside."

The counselor looked at the smiling, but tired faces of the married couple in front of him, and again wondered what secrets they were keeping from him, and what events could have happened in the past three weeks to change Isabel and the Queen family in so many dramatic ways. But after looking at his watch, the counselor realized that he would have to put his curiosity aside for another week. "Well, that's certainly good, although somewhat unexpected news! Still, as much as I would like to talk more with you two about the recent developments in your lives, we are out of time! So, I will be seeing you next week! In the meantime, I would just like to say that I wish you too all the best in your new life together!"

As Oliver and Isabel thanked their counselor for his words and shook Dr. Silverson's hand, the Arrow couldn't help but smile as he thought about just how far his relationship to Isabel had come in such a short time. In particular, it was the events around the time that he and Isabel had "eloped" that the archer's thoughts drifted to now. The Arrow couldn't help but smile as he thought about that day during the whole drive home to the Queen mansion, and, had the emerald archer been able to look over his shoulder at the brunette woman who was hanging on to his waist from the back of his motorcycle, he would have seen that Isabel was grinning widely as well as the same events replayed in her mind...

…

* * *

Early on the morning of the first day of the new year, after making themselves presentable, Oliver Queen and Isabel Rochev made their way down to the dining room to greet Moira, Connor and Thea, as well as Walter, who Moira had evidentially picked up in her limo after dropping off Anna so that the African-American man could spend the last night of the year with the Queen matriarch in the Queen mansion. After they did so, Oliver made an announcement to everyone gathered around the breakfast table. An announcement had mixed reactions from the group gathered around the dining room, as Thea smiled and nearly jumped out of her seat with joy, Connor actually did so while screaming "yay!" at the top of his lungs, Walter's face became a stoic, unreadable mask, and Moira's jaw dropped wide open in shock.

Thea began to stand up from her chair and replied to Oliver's announcement even while Connor ran up to Isabel and gave her a big hug, but Moira somehow found it within herself to speak before anyone else could. "I'm sorry, Oliver. Could you repeat that, please? I want to make really sure you said what I thought you just said."

Oliver sighed. He was afraid his mother would react like this. He didn't know what to think of Walter's reaction, since the black man was so good at keeping his feelings close to the vest. Truth be told, the Arrow had almost decided to wait until the bank CEO had left the Queen mansion to make his announcement, but…Walter had always been there for him and Thea when they needed him, even after divorcing his mother, and that made the man family in the blonde billionaire's book. Besides, with the way that the banker and the Queen matriarch were interacting these days, it seemed that Walter might just be an official part of the Queen family again sooner rather than later, anyway.

Putting his worries about Walter's reaction to his announcement in the back of his mind, Oliver choose to respond to his mother's rhetorical question for the time being. "I said that Isabel and I are going to get married, mom."

To further illustrate the reality of this fact, Isabel showed Moira the diamond ring on her left hand while her fiancée continued speaking. "Technically, we are getting married tonight, in Nanda Parbat, because Ra's al Ghul is supposed to have a wife, and Isabel and I have already decided, in light of recent events, that we want to spend the rest of our lives together anyway. That wedding won't be legally binding outside of Nanda Parbat, of course, but she and I have decided that it will count for us anyways…and that we would like to have a more formal wedding later, right here in Starling City later, just to make things official."

Oliver coughed nervously. "I know that this all rather sudden, and that Isabel and I haven't been dating each other long, but…in light of Isabel's pregnancy, and everything that has happened to us lately, and how much we love each other…"

Oliver didn't know how to finish that thought. But Isabel did. "What I think Oliver is trying to say, Miss Queen, is that he and I love each other very much, and we have decided we want to spend the rest of our lives together. Your son and I know our relationship has moved pretty fast over the past several months, and that you and I have had our…" Isabel cast a cautious look at Connor, then turned to Moira again. "Differences, in the past. But I hope that you can respect this decision that Oliver and I have made as a couple. Besides…"

Isabel surprised a gulp. "Oliver and I were kind of hoping you could help us plan the wedding, the formal one later this year, of course, since you know more about weddings than we do."

The tension in the room seemed as thick as steel for several seconds, and even young Connor could feel that something important was happening right now as everyone at the table remained silent for several seconds as Moira gathered her wits about her. However, the Queen matriarch privately admitted to herself that Isabel and Oliver had obviously put a lot of thought into their decision to get married. Between that truth, as well as the fact that Moira had already chosen to forgive Isabel's past sins against her in light of everything the Midnight Sentinel had done for the Queen family, as well as the knowledge that both her son and Isabel were stubborn people that she knew wouldn't change their minds about this decision no matter what she said, the Queen matriarch reluctantly decided to give Oliver and Isabel her blessing.

In truth, the Queen matriarch was still concerned about how fast Oliver and Isabel's relationship had progressed up to this moment. However, Moira figured she didn't have any right to say anything about that since her and Walter's relationship had started and progressed fairly quickly after Robert Queen had died, and, despite the…bumps in the road of that relationship, she and Walter were together now. In contrast, Moira and Robert had dated several years before they got married, and that relationship had turned out to be a disaster, so the middle-aged blonde woman knew that the length of a courtship didn't always influence the success of a relationship. Besides, Moira knew that her son's current obligations to the League of Assassins (which freaked the Arrow's mother out quite a bit) and Isabel's pregnancy were important factors that had influenced the rapid pace of the Arrow and Midnight Sentinel's relationship. With all of these things in mind, Moira Queen slid as pleasant a smile as she could muster onto her face and replied to Oliver and Isabel's words. "Alright, then. Have you set a date for the official wedding, Oliver? Because if you were planning on having the official ceremony before Isabel has your child, much less before she starts to show, we are going to have to work very quickly."

The tension in the room evaporated and Oliver and Isabel smiled a while before the former spoke. "We haven't thought that far ahead yet, and we can discuss a wedding date tomorrow, after today's business in Nanda Parbat is concluded. Speaking of which…"

The emerald archer sighed. "I spoke to Sarab a couple of hours ago concerning the wedding ceremony on Nanda Parbat. Usually, only members of the League are allowed to attend such an event, but…since I am Ra's al Ghul, for the moment…my old friend believes the League will suffer to have some of my blood relatives attend, so long as those of you who don't already know the location of the League base…"

Oliver shot a pointed look at Connor and Moira. "Are blindfolded on the way to and from Nanda Parbat." The Arrow's gaze also swept to Thea, as well as his son and mother, now. "But if the three of you would like to attend tonight's ceremony…"

This time it was Thea who ran up to her brother, then Isabel, and hugged them both, even while Connor started ranting at the top of his lungs about how cool it was that Isabel was going to be his stepmother soon. Finally, after her nephew had finally calmed down enough to stop shouting, Thea spoke. "Of course, the three of us, will be there! We're your family, Ollie, and pretty soon, Isabel is going to be too!" Teacher and protégé smiled at each other for a moment before Thea continued speaking. "And family has to be there for each other during once-in a lifetime moments like this!"

The younger Queen female turned to Moira. "Right, mom!?"

Moira sighed dramatically, then smiled. "Well…I did have a busy couple of days planned as the mayor of Starling City, but…for my son's wedding, I suppose I could clear my schedule for today and tomorrow! So, yes, Oliver, I will be there."

The Queen Matriarch then turner to Connor. "But my grandson can only come if he promised to behave himself and stay quite during the ceremony!" After the Arrow's son quickly promised to be good, and Oliver gave his word that no harm would come to his family on Nanda Parbat, everything seemed to be settled, except for one important detail.

The blonde billionaire sighed as he turned to Walter Steele, who was as stone faced as before. "I'm sorry, Walter. I wanted to invite you as well, but Sarab said that the League would probably not allow someone who wasn't an assassin, or related to me by blood, to attend the ceremony. I'm sorry about that. But you will definitely be invited to the larger ceremony later this year…"

Isabel nodded. "Oliver and Thea told me about everything you've done for them over the years, and we really did want to invite you to both ceremonies, Mr. Steele. I'm sorry that we couldn't do so!"

Walter actually smiled at Oliver and Isabel's nervous expressions. "That's quite all right. I understand. I think at this point that you can call me Walter now, Isabel. And Oliver…congratulations!"

As the African American man shook his hand with a large smile on his face, Oliver realized that Walter had been holding back his happy reaction to the wedding announcement until the banker had been able to gauge his ex-wife's/girlfriend's reactions to that same news. But since Moira had responded relatively well to the news of her son's upcoming wedding, Walter had decided to do likewise. The Arrow was just glad that everybody present was receiving this news so well.

Thea Queen interrupted Oliver's thoughts however, when she spoke again…but not before Thea, with Oliver's permission, asked Connor to go play in his room, and the young boy hurried to do so. "Um, Ollie? Aren't you forgetting something? Technically, me, mom, and Connor aren't the only family that you have. I know he's still recovering from his resurrection, but you need to invite Tommy too. Not only because he was your best friend, but because he is my brother! And that kind of makes him your brother too, right?!"

Everyone in the room nodded. The Queen family, Isabel, and even Walter (who had been told many of the Queen family's secrets shortly after he and Moira had begun dating again) knew that Thea Queen had been the result of a brief affair that Moira had with Malcolm Merlyn many years ago, and that Tommy Merlyn was Thea's half-brother. Therefore, everyone saw the logic in Thea's request. However, Oliver knew that he might have a hard time getting the League to accept Tommy returning to Nanda Parbat, and that, depending on Tommy's present state of mind, his former best friend may not want anything to do with Oliver right now, much less attend the Arrow's wedding to Isabel on Nanda Parbat. Even so, the emerald archer knew that Thea was right about Tommy Merlyn being part of his family…and that the young man deserved to be invited to Oliver Queen's wedding. Therefore, with a nod, the gray-eyed young man spoke. "Your right, Thea. Tommy does deserve to be invited to my wedding. But we don't have much time before we all need to depart for Nanda Parbat, so…I'm going to go ask my old friend if he wants to go to my wedding right now!"

…

* * *

Shortly after phoning ahead to make sure it was okay for them to come, Isabel, Oliver and Thea arrived at the apartment that Laurel Lance and Tommy Merlyn had been sharing for the past couple days while the latter was recovering from being brought back from the dead. After Oliver knocked on the door, despite Laurel's insistence that "I'll get it!" from inside of the apartment, it was Tommy who answered the front door of his girlfriend's apartment. Before the dark haired man could say a single word to Oliver Queen, however, Thea leaped out from behind Oliver and practically tackled Tommy, who the young woman hadn't been allowed to see since his resurrection, before forcefully drawing him into a hug! "I'm so glad you are back with us, Tommy!"

Tommy Merlyn's posture went as straight as a board for a second before the heir to Merlyn Global laughed nervously and struggled for several seconds to pull away from Thea, who finally got the hint and pulled away voluntarily before her half-brother spoke. "It's nice to see you again too, Thea, and I'm glad that I'm alive again as well, but as I've tried to explain to you before, I don't like you like that! You're like a little sister to me and…"

It took every ounce of Oliver Queen's considerable willpower not to laugh at Tommy Merlyn's choice of words even as Thea opened and closed her mouth repeatedly with a flabbergasted expression on her face. "What? Ew! Tommy…no! Just no! That is not even close to the signal I was trying to send by hugging you there and…"

Thea Queen quickly went from embarrassed to angry when Laurel Lance finally showed up at the door, and the former party shot an accusing finger in the later party's directions before she fumed. "You were supposed to tell him!"

Laurel, who had been told about Thea's parentage just before Team Arrow had left for the first mission to Nanda Parbat, simply shrugged. "I did. A few days ago! But I guess his ability to form memories was still a little fuzzy at that point, so…"

Tommy gave Thea a confused look, and that expression on his face only intensified when he saw Oliver Queen and a brunette woman that the still-recovering amnesiac didn't know. "I'm sorry…What exactly was it that Laurel supposedly told me and why are Oliver…" The heir to the Merlyn name gave Oliver a suspicious look which the Arrow took to mean that Tommy remembered enough to know that his old friend was the vigilante, but not enough to remember that he had tried to save him and apologized for Tommy's death right before the fact. "And this woman that I don't even know here with you?"

Oliver shook his head. "That is a long story, Tommy. If it is all right with you and Laurel, I think we should have this conversation inside of the apartment."

Laurel nodded her head, and after a moment, Tommy sighed and reluctantly nodded as well. Moments later, when Isabel, Oliver and Thea were seated on the sofa in the living room of the apartment, while Laurel and Tommy sat in separate chairs next to each other, and after Oliver had introduced Isabel Rochev to Tommy Merlyn, Thea decided to get straight to the point. "Okay, Tommy. The first thing you need to know, and the thing that Laurel was trying to tell you, is that I'm your sister. Well, technically, your half-sister."

Oliver gave Thea a look for her bluntness, Laurel waited for Tommy's reaction to this news, and Isabel stared awkwardly at the floor and shuffled her shoes across the carpet, knowing that this was not a conversation that she should get in the middle of. Finally, Tommy responded to Thea's words. Sort of. "What?!"

Thea sighed dramatically. "Oliver warned you there would be a long story for you to hear, so here goes…" Thea quickly explained, in very general details, that Moira Queen and Malcolm Merlyn had an affair shortly after Tommy's mother had died, and that Thea herself had been a result of that affair. After Tommy's half-sister told him all of this, she gave him a sympathetic look and added. "And…I'm sorry that you had to lose another parent, Tommy, even if…I don't know how much you remember about the night of the Undertaking, but did Laurel tell you what your father did that night, and what happened to him?"

Tommy nodded sadly. "Yeah. I don't really remember much about that night yet, since the day that I…died, and that's a really weird thing for me to say, by the way, seems to be the only remaining gap in my memory, but yes. Laurel told me about the Undertaking. About how my father tried to kill thousands of people in the Glades, before the vigilante killed him." Tommy gave Oliver a look that the Arrow found hard to read, but the archer was relieved that Laurel had stuck to the version of the story of Malcolm's death that they had agreed to tell Tommy. There was no use complicating the narrative by telling him about the events of Christmas day, after all.

Tommy continued speaking. "On one level, it's hard to wrap my head around. I mean, he was my father, you know? But after Laurel showed me your mom's taped confession to her part in the Undertaking, and all the other evidence against my dad that came up at Moira's trial…It all kind of made sense. I mean, my dad wad was a bit of a cold hearted bas…" Tommy amended his words. "Person after my mom died, but…It's still hard for me to believe that he was capable of that! Still, now that I know what kind of man my dad was, what he tried to do…"

The dark haired man gave the emerald archer a pointed look. "Laurel also told me about your efforts to stop the Undertaking and be more of a hero, and less of a vigilante, since that night. And…I'm glad you stopped my dad, Oliver, even though I'm not so happy about you having to kill him to do so…."

"Not exactly." Oliver interrupted his friend.

"Excuse me?"

The blonde billionaire sighed loudly. "I didn't exactly stop the Undertaking completely, Tommy, even though I really tried too. Despite my team's efforts, over 500 people died that night. And you were one of them. And you're also the only one I was able to bring back for various reasons which I don't have time to go into with you right now." Isabel stopped looking at the floor to put a comforting hand on her fiancé's shoulder while giving him a sympathetic look that wordlessly reminded Oliver that the Undertaking wasn't his fault, even as the archer continued speaking. "But that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about today, Tommy."

The heir to a ruined financial empire nodded. "I didn't think it was. So, what is the big thing that you wanted to tell me after all this time, and what does it have to do with Thea being my sister or the woman sitting right next to you that I don't know…" The dark-haired man turned to the female CEO. "Isabel, right?"

Isabel smiled. "That's right. Now, Oliver was probably planning on doing that thing where he beats around the bush a lot before he gets to the point, but we really don't have time for that, and I've been told I'm really good at being blunt, so….Oliver and I are getting married in Nanda Parbat tonight because Oliver just became the leader of an order called the League of Assassins, which he is going to try to reform, the two of us decided we want to spend the rest of our lives together anyway. So we would all appreciate it if you could attend that event, since Oliver and Thea consider you part of their family. And now…" Isabel awkwardly stammered out. "So do I."

Tommy just looked at Isabel dumbfounded for a second. "I hope you'll forgive me if I don't get up and hug you right now like this is some kind of Hallmark or Lifetime movie, Isabel…"

The brunette CEO smirked. "Actually, I would rather you didn't. I don't really know you, and I don't think either Oliver or Laurel would appreciate us hugging anyway."

Oliver held up one of his hands. "Look, I know this is a lot to take in right now, but we don't have much time before Isabel, my family, and me all have to leave for Nanda Parbat. But all of us, including my son, Connor, would all be honored if you attended the ceremony."

The blonde billionaire looked at Laurel with a regretful look on his face and spoke even while Tommy silently mouthed "Ollie has a son?!" to Thea. "I'm sorry, Laurel. But Sarab, one of the League's assassins, told me that only my blood relatives could attend the ceremony on Nanda Parbat, and I was just barely able to convince him that Tommy qualifies. I couldn't even invite Diggle and Felicity to tonight's ceremony, even though I told them about that event. But they, as well as you and Tommy, will be getting invitations to the bigger more formal Queen extravaganza that I'm sure my mother will have planned for Isabel and me…"

Tommy still looked confused now, even as Laurel just nodded in understanding. "Wow. Okay. I still have a million questions..."

The emerald archer nodded. "And I will answer them as well as I can once we are on the plane to Nanda Parbat, if you decide to go."

Tommy continued speaking. "But I guess the real question I have for you, Oliver, the one I need an answer to before I decide whether I want to attend this wedding, is: Why did you suddenly decide to take the plunge and get married? The Ollie that I knew was completely commitment phobic…even when you were with Laurel"

Laurel nodded. "That's certainly true."

Oliver shrugged as he thought to himself: 'The Ollie you knew died on the island. The man you saw after I came home was mostly a mask I used to keep you from seeing how much I had changed.' But what the archer said was: "Yes. I'll admit that in the past I was….not very good at commitment. I was terrified of it, actually. But my time on the island changed me in a lot of different ways, and…"

Oliver held onto his fiancé's hand and smiled. "Isabel has been there for me, and helped me to heal from…everything that happened during the five years I was missing…in so many ways. She saw me for who I really am, darkness and all, and she loves me anyway. Plus, she had been there for my family, especially Connor, in a lot of different ways and...I don't know what else to say except Isabel and I deeply care about each other, and I really just want to spend the rest of my life with her."

Isabel smiled at Oliver, and only the archer could see there was a little sadness in that smile as she added. "And I feel the same way about you, Oliver."

The hazel-eyed woman then turned her gaze to Tommy. "I love Oliver, Tommy, and he loves me. That's why we are getting married."

Tommy just nodded for several seconds before he spoke. "Okay, that's good enough for me. Laurel told me that you were becoming a better man since the Undertaking, Oliver, and that Isabel has helped you with that, so...I would be honored to attend your wedding, even it is occurring in some spooky assassin's lair."

Tommy turned to his girlfriend, who had already explained to him days before that she had already dealt with any lingering feelings she used to have for Oliver, and that she only wanted to be with Tommy now. "Laurel, is there any chance that you found my tux when you were going through all my old stuff a few days ago?"

* * *

The mood of the Nanda Parbat wedding was strange. The tone of the occasion was very solemn and serious, given the ceremony's location in the League of Assassins fortress, and the thousands of years of tradition behind the ceremony itself. However, there was a happiness that was evident in the eyes and smiles of Isabel, Oliver, Tommy and the entire Queen family that day that could not be overshadowed by the dark interior of Nanda Parbat's only chapel with it's black, spiked door, yellow walls, and red and yellow pillars, which were only partially lit by the candles and hanging lamps which were scattered around the room. Not even the dark assassins garb that Oliver was required to wear for the ceremony, or the solemn faces of all of the assassins that were gathered in the room to bear witness to the wedding of their new Ra's al Ghul to Isabel Rochev, who would be known as the Bride of the Demon after this ceremony was over, could dampen the spirits of the people in the room that the bride and groom cared about.

Oliver spent a few moments before the ceremony began talking to the high priestess of the League of Assassins, a woman with straight black hair who was wearing a simple black dress and two small golden necklaces, concerning the upcoming ceremony and the religion of the League of Assassins (a faith revolving around death that the current Ra's al Ghul knew little about, and wanted to know even less). Then Oliver Queen, who was clad in a simple black assassin outfit, with a black and yellow sash and a simple golden medallion which indicated his status as Ra's al Ghul turned towards the only visible door in the chapel…And was immediately greeted with the most beautiful sight he had ever laid eyes upon.

As his bride entered the chapel, and the many assassins in the room raised their swords on either side of the path into the back of the room where Ra's al Ghul and the priestess stood, the Arrow took in the sight of her. The black dress his bride wore was form fitting, especially at the bodice, but its black color symbolized the solemn, serious nature of the irreversible pact that she and her husband were entering into, even while the gold fringes that plunged down the dress, from the bride's shoulders, down her breast-line, all the way down to her torso, symbolized the high status in the League that the Bride of the Demon would receive by right of marriage. Isabel also wore a golden headband, which held Isabel's long, luxurious brunette hair back, a simple golden necklace around her neck that Oliver had already forgotten the meaning of, and a long white train (which the Arrow had been told symbolized the purity and goodness of marriage) that went from the back of the Midnight Sentinel's headband, then down to the floor, were it dragged several feet behind Isabel.

Isabel was not, however, wearing the traditional golden amulet of obedience, which would had indicated that the bride of the Demon would be completely submissive to the Demon's Head, since Oliver had forbidden Isabel's bridal attendants from putting said amulet around his bride's neck. After all, Oliver wanted Isabel to be his wife, not his slave, and he had already promised he would never use his power as Ra's al Ghul to issue Isabel (who was entering into the League of Assassins via her marriage to the demon's head) an order. Nor was the bride of the Demon wearing a veil, but the Arrow thought to himself that even if she had been, he would have easily been able to recognize Isabel's form under her tight fitting dress.

Oliver was still glad that Isabel wasn't wearing a veil, however. The lack thereof on her person allowed the Arrow to see his bride's beautiful face, her expressive hazel eyes, which were sparkling so brightly right now that they could almost be mistaken for diamonds as they stared right at Oliver, and Isabel's mouth, which was currently shooting her groom a million-watt smile that was, by far, bigger and brighter than any grin that Oliver had ever seen on his co-CEO's face. For a moment, as the bride and groom saw each other in their wedding garb for the first time, all thoughts of tradition, custom, and the solemn nature of this wedding ceremony fled from their minds, and all that Oliver and Isabel could think about was how good the other looked at this moment, and how lucky they both felt, after braving so many perils together and for each other, to have reached this pivotal moment in their relationship alive.

Alas, the moment could not last, forever, as Isabel knew that the raising of the assassins' swords indicated that the wedding ceremony had begun. Therefore, coming out of her and Oliver's mutual reverie first, the Midnight Sentinel started her walk towards the chapel's altar. By the time the bride had reached the altar area were her groom and the priestess stood, the groom had also broken out of his daze. However, the bride and groom were still all smiles as Isabel had stopped before the altar and the smiling priestess began speaking. "There is no vow more sacred, nor covenant more holy, than the one between man and woman. With this ceremony, your souls are bound together, forever joined. You will never be free. You will always be held captive by your love for each other…"

It was at this moment that the bride and groom forgot themselves a little and made a slight breach of League tradition by quickly squeezing each other's hands for a brief moment, while they smiled at each other. The priestess was also smiling as she thought to herself that it was obvious that this bride and groom were obviously already captivated by their love for each other, and had absolutely no desire to ever be 'free' from each other's presence. After the bride and groom remembered themselves again, there was an awkward moment of silence before the Arrow turned towards the priestess and said: "Continue."

The priestess half-smiled, half smirked at the bride and groom before continuing the ceremony, as the older woman briefly took in the all-too rare spectacle of a couple who loved each other getting married within the League of Assassins. Sadly, the priestess mentally noted, most marriages within the League were arranged ones performed for the sake of duty and creating strong children that could become assassins someday. And even though the League actually encouraged its married members to have a somber affection for each other and their children (until those children were old enough to train to be assassins themselves), it was rare to find such open displays of affection as Oliver and Isabel had just demonstrated by squeezing each other's hands, among members of the League, and rarer still for the bride and groom in a League wedding to already be in love with each other, as the present bride and groom clearly were.

Oliver and Isabel's obvious love for each other pleased the priestess, however, since she noted that, even among the members of the League, married couples got along better when they loved each other. However, the priestess did not speak any of these thoughts aloud before she continued speaking. "And for this shared life, we offer blessings. For our kind."

The priestess then bowed solemnly towards the couple, who bowed back in kind, an action which prompted Oliver, Isabel and the priestess to undergo a complicated series of hand movements which ended with all of those three individuals' hands stacked on top of each other, with one of the priestess' hands on top. To the priestess and the League, this was a significant moment in which the current Ra's Al Ghul had taken on a wife in a League of Assassins ceremony, thus insuring the future of the League and strengthening the Demons Head's commitment to their organization. To Oliver and Isabel however, this moment was something much more simple and profound. A silent promise. Not to the League of Assassins, or their mysterious god of death that neither the bride nor groom wanted anything to do with. No, to the Arrow and the Midnight Sentinel this moment, this ceremony, was a promise to each other to always love and be there for each other as long as both of them were alive. The ultimate display of romantic love and commitment.

Finally, the ceremony concluded when the priestess spoke the final words. "The union is sealed."

That was the last straw, as Oliver and Isabel lost all of the self-restraint they had been exercising since seeing each other in their wedding clothes and practically launched themselves at each other before plunging into a long, very untraditional, open mouthed kiss that expressed all of the love that the Arrow and Midnight Sentinel felt for each other…while Moira Queen, unbeknownst to the couple, ended up having to cover Connor's widened eyes. And in that long, final moment of their wedding, no one existed for the newly married couple except for each other, not even their friends, family members and loved ones…and certainly not the two woman women with blonde and black hair, respectfully, who watched the whole ceremony from behind a secret entrance to the chapel.

But even after that moment ended, after Oliver and Isabel had pulled away from the kiss, but just before the newly-married couple turned to acknowledge their fellow assassins, as well as Connor, Moira, Thea, and Tommy, they took one last second to admire each other and file this moment away in their long term memories forever. When even that moment was gone, however, Oliver and Isabel were still all smiles, completely unrepentant about getting caught up in their love for each other when they had kissed as a married couple for the first time. Then the bride and groom proceeded to walk together towards the only exit (that they knew of) to the chapel, stopping only a short time to wave and smile at their friends and family members, before leaving the room and heading towards the private bedroom which was the closest thing that Nanda Parbat had to a honeymoon suite….and their new lives together as Mr. and Mrs.

Together the couple walked towards their future. And although neither Oliver nor Isabel knew what new challenges and tragedies might await them in that unknown future, they were at least comforted by the knowledge that as long as they both lived, they would face those challenges together as Mr. and Mrs. Queen, The Arrow and the Midnight Sentinel….The Demon's head and his Bride.

 **AN: So here we are readers, at the end of the final chapter to this story! I hope you enjoyed it!** **As always, I would like to thank all of my readers, especially those of you who were kind enough to leave a review to any and/or all of my chapters, including, in no particular order: Pootamis, Troll99, highlander348,** Ravenmore45, WinterRain36 **and Phillipe363! Your input and continued support have all been greatly appreciated!**

 **A few notes on the wedding scene. I wanted Isabel and Oliver's wedding to be a sort of "Mirror Image" to the Oliver and Nyssa wedding on the show (you should watch that now on YouTube if you haven't seen it already, it's…haunting). I wanted there to be similar trappings to both weddings (setting, clothing, ceremony), but make it clear that the two wedding are otherwise nothing alike. Oliver and Nyssa's wedding on the show was grim, neither the bride nor groom were happy, and all of Oliver's loved ones were in peril during that ceremony. In contrast, with Oliver and Isabel's wedding…well, I'll just let you all draw your own conclusions. And please, feel free to let me know what you thought of the ceremony.**

 **Concerning my thoughts on writing a sequel for this story. Obviously, I'm planning on continuing Olibel's tale into another chapter, but I want to make two things clear right now. One, it will be awhile before I start posting chapters for the next story, because I want to be able to watch at least a few episodes of Season Four of Arrow to get a few ideas for the sequel first while I work on other fanfics, including an idea I have for a Doctor Who one-shot. And two, my next Olibel story will be my last. As much as I love this pairing, I have no interest in writing a story that never ends. So the end of my next Olibel story will represent the end of my completed Olibel story.**

 **Once again, readers, thank you for all your views, reviews, PM's, and other forms of input and support for my writing! I wouldn't be inspired to publish these stories, much less work so hard on them without your support! With that being said, please let me know what you all thought about this final chapter of A Holiday Fit for a Queen, and my Olibel story in general.**

 **And an even bigger than you goes out to my beta-reader, without whom my writing would have less literary value than chicken scratch! Your help is very much appreciated!**

 **Until next time, I am….**

 **-supercode**


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